Never Let Me Go
by missingstars89
Summary: It's been 3 years since her heart was broken and her world was essentially turned upside down. She's moved on and is excelling in her career against the odds but she's suddenly forced to face the past and the person she tried so desperately to leave behind. Faced with their past and their paths entwined once again, how does one move on and let the other go?
1. Chapter 1-Old Beginnings

"Please put that arrangement over there. No, no that table is supposed to be in the center of the room not off to the side-"

"Caroline Elizabeth Forbes you have two seconds to explain to me why on earth you are doing the job you asked me to help with instead of being at HOME taking it easy the way the doctors told you to," came a firm voice from behind.

Caroline turned around to see one of her best friends, Elena Gilbert, staring at her with an arched eyebrow and her arms crossed across her chest. Caroline could see the annoyance in her friend's dark brown eyes and judging by the messy ponytail she had pulled her long dark hair in to and the yoga pants and tank top she was wearing, Elena had rushed here after her morning yoga class. Caroline shifted her gaze somewhat guiltily, bringing up a hand absentmindedly to tuck a blonde curl behind her ear.

"Sorry Elena, I forgot to call you this morning to tell you I was going to be able to come take care of things after all. I'm feeling so much better I-" Caroline was explaining when she was interrupted by another member who joined them just then.

"Blondie what the hell are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be on some kind of bed rest?" Damon asked as he walked in carrying two large boxes and setting them on top of one of the tables.

Caroline took in his appearance and felt a little guiltier. His dark hair was disheveled and he was wearing a plain white t-shirt that was wrinkled in places, proving he had obviously just thrown it on quickly and his light blue eyes screamed their exhaustion.

"She forgot to tell me she was feeling so much better," Elena repeated somewhat sarcastically as she looked back at Caroline.

"A little heads up would have been nice before Elena here basically forced me to come help with the set-up," Damon replied with an eye roll and ignored the dirty look that Elena shot him.

"I didn't force you to do anything. I persuaded you and there's a big difference," Elena said.

"By threatening to take sex off the table for a month!" Damon exclaimed indignantly.

Caroline half laughed and half groaned as she looked away from the two of them.

"Okay that is WAY too much information," she said as she slightly shook her head and reached into the boxes that Damon had brought.

"You haven't even heard the half of it-" Damon started before Elena hit him on the side of the arm and cut him off.

"Seriously Caroline why are you here? Are you trying to avoid Kelly?" Elena asked her. "I know she was supposed to be one to bring you lunch today."

Caroline looked up at her with the best incredulous expression she could give but she knew Elena was not fooled.

"No!" Caroline exclaimed as she looked over her shoulder, almost as if she was expecting her to be lurking somewhere in the background. "I told you, I'm feeling a lot better and couldn't take another day of staying home doing nothing when there's so much to get done today thank you very much," Caroline said pointedly as she tried to move one of the heavy boxes before Damon shooed her away and picked up the box himself.

"Uh-huh right. You know, you're going to have to spend some one-on-one time with her at some point. You're only prolonging the inevitable and ignoring your doctor's orders," Elena chastised her with a stern look on her face. "I'm not exactly in a hurry to see my best friend rushed off to the hospital again because she overworked herself."

"She's right blondie," Damon added as he came to get the other box.

"You're just agreeing with her so that you won't be stuck in a dry-spell for the next month," Caroline replied with an eye-roll.

Damon simply gave her a smug smirk and moved away with the box.

"I'm fine Elena, seriously. It's been a week since I've been out and I was going to be up and about later today anyway and tonight has to be ab-" Caroline was saying.

"Absolutely perfect. Yes I know Care. I've watched you plan out tonight down to the last detail," Elena said with an eye roll and small smile. "It's kind of insulting that you don't trust me enough to know I would take care of things exactly the way you want them."

"What's really insulting is that anybody should be up at this ungodly hour," came another voice from the entryway.

Caroline and Elena both turned to see a grumpy looking Katherine walking in wearing dark skinny jeans and a black fitted v-neck and her signature high-heeled stilettos. Caroline couldn't help but laugh at the very obvious difference between the two twins.

"You do realize that you're here to work, including moving things around right?" Elena asked her as she eyed the six-inch heels her twin sister was currently standing in.

"That's a negative. I will do whatever else you ask me to Yoda but I will not do that. And when I say 'whatever else', I really mean more along the lines of bossing the other workers here around, starting with your boyfriend," Katherine said with an evil smirk as she saw Damon walking back toward them.

"Ah so she can come out into the sunlight," Damon remarked with feigned shock as he reached their small group.

"No! Today is not going to be about you guys fighting do you guys understand? Tonight is important and everything is already going to be stressful enough without listening to the two of you bickering the entire time," Caroline said firmly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and eyed them both seriously.

"Whatever, I'll be checking out the alcohol supply if anyone needs me," Damon muttered before walking away.

"Here, this is the map of what the patio set-up is supposed to look like. Go take a look that they're setting it up right," Elena said to Katherine before glancing back at Caroline. She waited until Katherine was far enough away to talk.

"What's going on Care?" Elena asked quietly. "Are you worried about your dad?"

Caroline quickly shook her head.

"No he's fine, thankfully that's not something I have to worry about right now," she answered in a low voice.

"You're worried about tonight aren't you?" Elena asked her seriously.

Caroline let out a long sigh that sounded exhausted as she rubbed her temples with her fingers.

"Yes," Caroline admitted with another small sigh. "We all know Kelly hates me and my mother and my mother's not exactly fond of her either…this will be the first time that we're all in the same room together and I know that my mom won't hold back if or more like _when_ Kelly says something to me and ugh, it's just a disaster waiting to happen. Matt swears it'll be fine but I'm pretty sure he's just trying to make me feel better," Caroline finished with a defeated sigh.

"And on top of that everyone from Mikaelson Corps will be here," Elena added and caught the way Caroline's body tensed immediately. "Maybe Matt's right," Elena started before she caught hold of the incredulous glare Caroline was shooting her.

"About which part? His mother? When he told her about us, her response was 'You can do so much better,''" Caroline repeated bitingly. "The woman hates me, do you really think she's going to hold back when she has the opportunity to humiliate me in front of everyone tonight? And wouldn't it just be great if she could do it in front of everyone who's coming tonight?" she finished, cursing her horrible luck. "Tonight was supposed to be a simple birthday celebration and instead I'm stuck essentially planning the event that will more than likely end in humiliation for me."

Elena cringed a little before continuing. "Look, I'm not arguing that Kelly's your biggest fan but if she says anything tonight, she'd not only be embarrassing you, she'd also be embarrassing herself and Matt in front of everyone you guys work with. Maybe that's incentive enough to get her to think things through?"

"I highly doubt it but I guess we'll find out tonight," Caroline said through clenched teeth.

"Look at me. I know it freaks you out that you're not in control of everything but you need to take a deep breath and not let yourself get stressed out again. I wasn't kidding when I said I'm not looking forward to your next hospital visit," Elena said seriously. "Come on, let's get to work. We need to have plenty of time to make sure you look absolutely perfect tonight too."

Hours and several arguments between Elena, Katherine, and Damon later, the place looked exactly how Caroline had envisioned. She felt a little guilty for the way she had snapped at her friends and the workers a few times but it was almost engrained into her to be prone to detail and a little bossy. She didn't become one of the youngest and most successful entrepreneurs in the business out of sheer luck after all. It had not been an easy feat getting to where she is now, granted this is isn't where she wanted to be for the rest of her career, especially after the rumors that circulated around her when she started in the business. She had started out as a secretary while finishing up her last year of university but her boss had seen she had more potential and secured her a job as a personal assistant for one of the most important people in the business so that she could begin networking and work her way up. She had been doing just that but things had gotten complicated with her boss and he ended up skipping town with her heart and her reputation.

"So serious. You'd think somebody who's been ring shopping and got to spend the entire day bossing everybody around would be a lot happier," Katherine said with a smirk as she came up beside her.

Caroline rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh.

"I am happy but this day is far from over," she replied tensely.

She looked back at Katherine curiously when she noticed the odd way she was watching her.

"You do realize that you've been having to say that to everyone for a while now?" Katherine asked her.

"Saying what?" she asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"That you're happy. Nobody sees it anymore, you have to tell everyone," Katherine answered.

Caroline opened her mouth to respond but shut it again, not knowing how to respond. She knew she was more tense and anxious about tonight than she had been in a really long time but that's not something she wanted to admit out loud. She ended up excusing herself and making her way back home with Elena to begin getting ready for the night. By the time the evening rolled around, Caroline stood at the event's location, making some last minute arrangements alongside Elena and their friend Bonnie Bennett who had joined them while they were getting ready.

"Care you really should quit messing with those flower arrangements, you're going to end up getting something on your dress," Bonnie said over her shoulder as she tried fixing some stray hairs in front of the long mirror that adorned the hall.

"Don't bother, it's like arguing with a wall," Elena teased as she came to help Bonnie.

Caroline rolled her eyes and laughed as she watched her two friends get ready. They both looked beautiful in their knee-length dresses and strappy heels. Elena had curled her hair and had pulled it into a side-swept ponytail and was wearing a lacy black and white dress while Bonnie had let her long dark hair down in loose curls and was wearing shimmery eye make-up that highlighted her dark green eyes and was dressed in a black off-the-shoulder knee-length dress that was fitted and hugged her curves.

"I doubt anybody would notice anything on my dress because they'd be too busy staring at you two," Caroline teased as she walked over to straighten out her dress and fix any flyaway hair.

She had decided to wear her hair down in loose curls like Bonnie and had opted with wearing one of her favorite dresses that night. It was a strapless navy blue dress that came just above her knee and hugged her curves perfectly. She had paired it with a thin silver necklace that had a single diamond in the center and of course, her favorite pair of black pumps.

"I am counting on both of your men beating all the other men away from you two so that maybe tonight I can actually get lucky with at least one decent guy," Bonnie said with a small laugh.

"What kind of luck are we talking about here Bon?" Caroline teased with a mischievous smirk as Elena laughed in the background.

They were interrupted when they heard the sound of Caroline's phone going off in her purse.

"Hello?" Caroline answered.

"Hey hon, I just wanted to let you know I'm just leaving the office now so I'll be getting there a little late," Matt answered over the phone and quickly apologized when he heard Caroline's annoyed sigh on the other end. "I'm sorry our meeting ran longer than anticipated. The board was being more difficult than usual today with this whole merger and I'm pretty sure some of them walked out with aneurysms. But I'll fill you in on all the gory details later. I'm rushing home now and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I understand but please hurry. This is kind of your birthday party, I think that means everyone will be here to see you," she answered with a small laugh, trying not to think about the whole issue with the merger, somebody that had been completely stressing her out since she first heard about it.

"Well I'll be there to see you," he responded and laughed a little when he heard her laugh. "What's funny?"

"Real smooth but we both know you're not just coming for me. You also have some big announcement remember?" she reminded him, half-hoping that he wouldn't make the announcement that night. Something about him making that announcement would making everything official even though she knew they were past that point.

"Details," he laughed before saying bye to her and hanging up.

"And the cutest couple award goes to?" Elena teased.

Caroline rolled her eyes with a small smile before walking over to take her place where she would be welcoming the guests as they arrived.

"So what was the big announcement you two were talking about?" Bonnie asked curiously as she came to stand by her. "You two didn't?" she started, looking down at Caroline's hand immediately.

"No!" Caroline exclaimed loudly, causing some of the hired staff to glance over at her. "Don't you think I would have told you already? The other directors want Matt to make the official announcement tonight about the companies merging."

"What companies?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"The company is merging with Mikaelson Corps," Caroline answered a little tensely, looking straight ahead at nothing in particular. Thankfully, the first guests started to arrive and soon enough, there was a swarm of guests and Caroline lost sight of her two friends as they all moved around greeting different individuals they knew.

"Wow quite the turn-up. Who knew that business snobs also liked to party?" Caroline heard Katherine say as she walked inside alongside her fiancé.

"Need I remind you that you're marrying one of these so called 'business snobs'?" Elijah asked with a hint of amusement in his voice and his handsome features.

Elijah Mikaelson was tall and indeed handsome, with his dark hair and brown eyes and chiseled facial features. Everyone who knew him would always complain that it wasn't fair that he looked like a walking Adonis. Everyone except Katherine that is.

"The moment you become a business snob we are officially over," Katherine shot back with a playful smirk before turning back to Caroline who was shaking her head with a small laugh.

"I'm glad you guys made it," Caroline said with a smile as she hugged Katherine before turning to hug Elijah.

Sometimes Caroline still didn't know how to act in front of Elijah, given their history but after he started dating Katherine and they realized they would be forced to interact more frequently than not, they had gotten to a place where it was no longer so awkward. This made Caroline happy because she liked the elder Mikaelson and had come to consider him a friend before things had gotten complicated and since he and Katherine were engaged, she knew they were somehow always going to be a part of each other's lives. And now with their companies merging…

"So where the hell is the birthday boy? Trying to make a grand entrance huh?" Katherine asked as she looked around for Matt.

"Something like that," Caroline responded with a laugh as she walked them over to an empty table. She was making her way to leave them and get back to attending the other guests when Katherine stopped her.

"It's kind of rude to abandon your guests like this Care," Katherine said with a smug smirk as she pulled out the seat next to her and patted it. "Take a load off from playing host. You've already worked enough today and if I remember correctly, you're still supposed to be taking it easy?"

"I meant to inquire about your health sooner, how are you feeling?" Elijah asked her politely.

"I'm feeling a lot better, everyone just keeps making a big deal out of nothing," Caroline responded feeling a little embarrassed.

"No that's all you. You're just conveniently not trying to make a big deal out of _this_," Katherine said with a slight eye roll.

Caroline turned to glare at Katherine who was busy ignoring her as she accepted some glasses of champagne from the waiter who had just reached their table. Right then, Caroline noticed two individuals that entered the room and she quickly took the seat next to Katherine and downed her glass of champagne.

"You know that's not water right?" Katherine asked with an amused look on her face.

Caroline simply shook her head and kept looking straight ahead, hoping they wouldn't notice her sitting at that table and work their way over to her.

"So Elijah, how is everything going on your end with the merger?" Caroline asked quickly in an attempt to distract herself, and almost instantaneously wanted to kick herself for brining it up. _So much for getting your mind off of this whole thing for as long as possible._

He let out a small sigh and she noticed him take a rather large sip of his own champagne glass.

"Things are, for lack of a better word, complicated, at the moment but I'm confident we'll all find deals that are reasonable and we are comfortable with," he answered a little tensely.

Caroline frowned a little at this. If Elijah was saying things were complicated, she knew that really meant things were going to hell.

"Matt mentioned that some of the board members were being difficult," she recalled.

"I'm afraid it's not just the board members," Elijah replied tensely. "My family doesn't seem to understand the need for this merging of the companies."

Caroline tried to hide her curiosity, as she wondered which family member was being difficult. She tried to keep her mind from wandering to one Mikaelson in particular so instead she let it wander to another.

"I can't imagine the news has gone over very well with Mikael," Caroline said with a deeper frown. She had never liked the man and she was willing to bet every last penny she owned that he was making this merger particularly difficult for everyone.

"That's an understatement if I've ever heard one," Katherine muttered darkly with an eye roll. "At least when he comes down for the wedding he won't have to call at two or three in the morning to yell," she added sarcastically. "That's _if_ he comes. What did he say when you told him we were engaged?"

Caroline felt like her entire face fell when she heard Katherine mention the wedding. She knew that Elijah's family would fly down for that but it hadn't really hit her that _she would actually have to see them_ until right then. She would be face to face with _him_ again…She had been worried when she first heard about the merger, wondering if he would return but her concerns were quickly relieved when she found out he would not be returning as he was overseeing one of their branches overseas. But there was nothing she could do about the wedding…She suddenly felt the need for another drink as she contemplated dropping out of Katherine's wedding party right then and there. How many bridesmaids did a woman really need after all?

"Katherine," Elijah said warily, obviously not wanting to continue that conversation.

"Tell me I'm saying something that's not true?" Katherine challenged.

"I would rather us not discuss my father at the time being. I assure you my entire family will be there to support us on that day and right now I am only interested in enjoying this evening with my beautiful fiancé," Elijah finished with a small and gentle smile that made Katherine roll her eyes but smile nonetheless.

"I wouldn't exactly be complaining if the man didn't show his face on that day," Katherine added before taking a drink of her own champagne glass.

"If it makes you feel any better, Matt's mom told him he could do so much better when he first told her about us," Caroline added a little absentmindedly.

"Here's to the joy that future in-laws bring," Katherine said sarcastically as she raised her glass against Caroline's.

"If I might inquire where is Mr. Donovan? I was hoping to discuss a few matters with him before his announcement of the merger tonight," Elijah said in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

"He called to say his last meeting ran longer than he expected so he's running a little late," Caroline answered a little tensely as she looked around for any sign of him or his mother and sister, the two individuals she had spotted walking in earlier and hoping to avoid as long as she could.

"Perhaps I can take this opportunity to discuss an important matter with you then?" he responded looking at her seriously.

"Sure," she responded a little confused by what he could possibly want to discuss with her.

"I have spoken to Alaric Saltzman and wanted to make you an offer. We both feel you are a smart and very capable leader and now that the companies are merging I was hoping to interest you on assuming more of a leadership role and help oversee the transition and establishment of the two companies. You would be working directly with me as well as the other board members, helping everyone to get adjusted since this is such a change for all of us. You would naturally receive a higher pay for your new responsibilities. Is this something that draws your interest?" he asked her in a very business-like manner she had seen him use many times in the past when she used to sit in on their meetings.

Her expression was both a combination of shock and incredulousness.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea given my history at your company…" she said in a low voice.

"I understand that things were rather complicated when you left our company but I assure you that everything has changed and nobody can deny that it was because of your own endeavors that you made it to where you are today," he responded matter-of-factly.

She couldn't help but snort at his last words.

"I'm sorry Elijah but nobody would tell you what they really think about me to your face. I'm friends with your fiancé and they don't exactly want to get on the boss' bad side by bad-mouthing me and risk Katherine finding out," Caroline argued.

"I can be rather intimidating," Katherine conceded with a smug smile. "But seriously, why do you care what those gossiping bastards have to say about you?"

"I assure you, you wouldn't be in the same position as last time. You would work directly alongside myself and the other board members and you would simply be assisting us in making the transition. Because of your involvement with both companies, I believe you would be a great asset in helping this transition run as smoothly as possible," Elijah responded and Caroline could hear the honesty in his words.

"Your faith in me is flattering, really it is, but I'm not sure this would work. I could still help out with what you need but let's face it, nobody at your company respects me and would never listen to what I have to say," she said in a tight voice.

"Please tell me you will at least consider my offer?" Elijah asked a little pleadingly after a few moments of tense silence. "We will all be working together now, it's time that the past got left where it belongs and everyone recognized you for your talents."

"Okay," she responded a little begrudgingly after a few moments as she pondered his last words.

Everything about this merger had come out of nowhere it seemed and she went from never wanting to do anything with Mikaelson Corps again, to essentially working for them again but she had been assured she would be able to continue working from her current office which meant she would see as little of her old colleagues as possible. Could she really go back to the place that had nearly broken her? She didn't get to ponder these thoughts for long because just then she was interrupted by the arrival of her boyfriend, Matt Donovan.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he said with an apologetic smile as he bent down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to greet Elijah and Katherine.

She noticed his wet blonde hair and his hastily tucked in light blue shirt that matched the color of his eyes.

"Look who's finally making their grand appearance but I have to tell you that your shirt isn't buttoned up the right way," Katherine pointed out with an amused laugh before taking another sip of her champagne.

"Excuse me," Caroline said with a small smile as she got up and led Matt to another room away from the party. She watched as he straightened out his shirt and pulled out his tie that she then helped him with.

"I'm sorry I'm so late Care," he apologized as he watched her work silently on his tie.

"It's okay, like I told you, I understand," she said giving him a small smile.

"What's wrong then?" he asked her curiously as he took in her tense appearance.

"Why do you think anything's wrong?" she tried to ask innocently and then laughed a little when he shot her a look. "It's nothing I just…Elijah just offered me a position to help with the merger."

"Care that's great!" he exclaimed loudly with a big smile. "Ric mentioned it to me the other day but I didn't want to say anything until it was something official. This is great, you'll be promoted and we'll get to work more closely together," he rambled on completely oblivious to the concern on her face.

They were interrupted when one of their colleagues came in to greet him and pulled him away to go greet the other directors and board members that were there. He leaned in to give her another quick kiss on her forehead.

"This is awesome Care. Looks like I'm not the only one being treated today," he said with a wide smile before walking away.

She swallowed back the lump that had formed in her throat and fought back the tears as she watched him walk back toward the party. It stung a little that he hadn't even considered her view on the whole thing but she quickly composed herself and went to join the party as well. She was looking around for her friends but saw Elena on the dance floor with Damon and saw Bonnie happily chatting away with a guy. She smirked at this and was just looking for Katherine when somebody came up from behind her and startled her.

"This is quite the party you threw for my son," she heard a sarcastic and cool voice say from behind.

Caroline felt her entire insides churn at the sound of Kelly's voice. Composing herself and putting on her best smile, she slowly turned to face her.

"Ms. Donovan how-" Caroline started.

"Oh let's skip all the fake pleasantries. I think we both know that neither one of us can stand the sight of the other," Kelly Donovan said in a cold voice, that matched the coolness in her light green eyes.

Caroline was taken aback for a moment and didn't know how to respond but upon seeing the smirk that crossed her face, she quickly regained her composure.

"Well I'm sorry that you feel that way because there's a good chance we're going to be in each other's lives for a long time," Caroline answered her firmly, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.

"You would like that wouldn't you? Someone like my son is way out of your league but somehow you've managed to trap him in your web of lies like the gold-digging bi-" Kelly was saying before Caroline angrily cut her off.

"I will not stand here and let you insult me. I have _never, _not once asked your son for anything. We are together because we _care_ about each other whether you see it or not," she snapped angrily.

"Don't make me laugh. I know your kind and your whole 'girl-next-door' façade may work for people like my son but I am not fooled by the likes of you. I know all about your history with the Mikaelson's. Personal assistant that climbed up the business ladder only because of her talents in bed," Kelly said in a voice that was dripping in venom.

Caroline felt her entire body go cold and felt like she was suddenly in a daze. Her entire body was shaking from what exactly, she didn't know but the look on Kelly's face made her see red.

"You have no right to-" Caroline started before she was interrupted by the sound of somebody speaking in to the microphone, wishing Matt a happy birthday and making other announcements.

In that moment that she turned to look at the person on stage, she felt somebody tug on her arm and pull her away. Turning around, she saw Katherine leading her to a table off to the corner.

"What are you doing?" Caroline hissed in a low voice.

"I am saving you from going ape-shit on your future in-law on your boyfriend's birthday," Katherine snapped.

"I wasn't going to-" Caroline started.

"Oh please Care, you got the look," Katherine said with an eye roll.

"What look?" Caroline asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"The look that says you better run for your life stat," Katherine responded with a smirk. "What was that old wench telling you that pissed you off anyway?"

Caroline huffed angrily and took a seat on the empty chair and began rubbing her temples again.

"It's not even worth it. I shouldn't have let her get to me," she responded angrily.

"It's worth it if it got you this riled up. Spill," Katherine insisted in a firm voice, letting her know she wasn't going to be backing down.

They both had a stare down for a few moments before Caroline sighed in defeat as the events of the night weighed on her.

"She just brought up my whole past working at Mikaelson Corps," she said in a tense voice.

"Of course that gossiping bitch would bring that up," Katherine muttered with an eye roll. "She doesn't know what the hell really happened so don't let it bother you."

"No she doesn't but she's only saying what everybody else is already saying," Caroline said in a defeated voice.

"Why do you care so much?" Katherine asked her seriously and continued when she saw the look that Caroline shot her. "Seriously, why does it matter what she or any of these miserable people are saying about you? You know it's not true and everyone who matters knows the truth as well so why do you let it get to you?"

"Why? Because my name is like a bad word in everyone's mouth. I'm a clichéd scandal. In this field, they all know me as the girl who climbed up the ladder by climbing into bed with her boss," Caroline said through angry tears.

"Let them think what they want. It only matters if you think it's true," Katherine said as she grabbed two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter.

Caroline scoffed and shook her head. "It's easier said then done. I don't want to care about what people say and I don't want to keep thinking about that part of my life but they'll never let me forget it and now Elijah wants me to go back and act like what? It never happened?"

"You don't need to act like it never happened and Elijah would be a fool to try and make you do that. You are Caroline Forbes, you are talented and fierce, hell you're almost as fierce as me, and you are making a name for yourself and you did that all your own. Elijah would never have asked you to take that position unless he knew you were capable of handling it and we both know it," Katherine responded in a firm voice. "I noticed how you reacted when Elijah offered you that position and if you don't want it because it genuinely doesn't interest you then fine, turn it down but if you're only turning it down because you're scared of what people are going to be saying about you then you've let those people win and that's a damn shame because the Caroline I know, doesn't let anyone stop her."

Caroline looked at her for a few moments before she said anything.

"Remind me when you became the voice of reason? Here I thought I'm the one who's always talking some sense into you," Caroline said with a half-hearted smile.

"Cherish this moment because we both know it's not going to happen too often," Katherine answered with her typical smirk.

They both sat in silence for a few moments before they both heard Matt take the stage and start making his announcements. Caroline listened intently as he started talking about the history of his company and as he started about the history of Mikaelson Corps, she felt a sudden knot form in her stomach as she remembered her time there and as she fought desperately to not let her mind wander to one individual. As she sat there, she began contemplating both Elijah's offer and Katherine's words. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she was startled when she heard everyone start applauding and she realized that Matt must have made the announcement about the merger. When the clapping died down, Matt continued.

"And on a final note, I would just like to take the time to thank my beautiful girlfriend Caroline Forbes for organizing this entire celebration and putting everything together and seeing that it ran so smoothly. She truly is a trooper or stubborn depending on who you talk to, she was just released from the hospital a week ago and yet she still oversaw this entire event and looks radiant as always," Matt said with a bright smile as he looked out in to the crowd for her.

Caroline felt herself cringing in to her seat in embarrassment but she was unable to hide when he called her to join him on the stage. She grudgingly got up, feeling her face burning as the people in the room turned to look at her and clapped as she joined Matt on the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm round of applause to this beautiful woman standing next to me, this woman who is by far too good for me but has just not noticed it yet," he teased with a small laugh as he saw Caroline roll her eyes with a small laugh. "She will also be joining our leadership team in helping with our transition as our companies adjust so ladies and gentlemen let's give her another round of applause," he added as he started clapping.

Caroline felt her entire body stiffen as she heard the last announcement he made and even amongst the clapping, she could see some people in the room turning to look and whisper things to each other. She felt her entire face grow hot and her breathing quicken and she wanted nothing more than to escape from that stage and get away from all those curious gazes penetrating her. She caught sight of Elena and Bonnie clapping, both with curious and confused expressions before she caught sight of a serious Katherine standing next to Elijah whose expression was unreadable. She didn't hear the rest of Matt's announcement, as her mind was suddenly taken back to three years ago. She could hear the murmurs from the office secretaries as she walked by them, see their judgmental looks and as she closed her eyes, she could see his stormy blue eyes staring back at her.

Matt wrapped up his speech right then and she heard another round of applause before she quickly made her way off the stage and went straight toward the back, excusing herself and trying to smile at the people that congratulated her either on the party or her "new job" she wasn't sure. She finally made it out of the room and went toward the kitchen, the first room that popped into her head. None of the caterers seemed to pay any attention to her as they all went about their jobs and she stood off in the corner, pouring herself a glass of champagne with a pair of shaky hands. She heard footsteps approach her from behind and she knew Matt must have followed her but she didn't turn around; she needed to compose herself before she could face him and she needed to control her anger before she turned around and strangled him for making the assumption that she would accept Elijah's offer before even listening to what she had to say about the whole thing, and better yet, making this announcement in front of everyone.

She was shocked to say the least when she heard another voice instead of Matt's.

"That was quite a speech. Perhaps Mr. Donovan should consider a career in politics," she heard a familiar accented voice come from behind her and her entire body froze.

She had not heard that voice in three years but she would recognize it anywhere. Sometimes she thought she knew it better than she knew her own voice. She thought she must be imagining but she knew that she would never be able to reproduce that voice in her head so perfectly no matter how many times she had tried to at first. She felt her heart stop in her chest and before she could process what was going on, she heard the sound of glass breaking as her champagne glass slipped from her hands and hit the hard tile. She turned painstakingly slow and was met by those blue eyes that had haunted her dreams for many months and that she had tried desperately to block from her mind entirely.

"Hello Caroline."

"Klaus…"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! So first chapters are always difficult to write & tend to be the most boring but hopefully you guys will give it a chance, I promise it will get more interesting (or so I think)! This is a story I've kind of been playing around with in my head for a few months but wasn't sure where I wanted to take it and while I still don't have everything finalized, I do have a start and wanted to share with you guys. There's more of a plot than Caroline freaking out about the job, I promise :) Please let me know what you guys think!**


	2. Chapter 2-Yesterday

**Wow I'm so excited for your interests in this story! Very special thank you to Ouat-in-vampirediaries, Jackiezn, GhostInThePhoto, Ellavm18, MartaS, Guests, Lola, polo, Snow, & KC fan for your reviews & to everyone who followed & faved! I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the first chapter & hope you guys continue to enjoy it! Please forgive any errors I didn't catch.**

* * *

"_**Yesterday, all my trouble seemed so far away  
**__**Now it looks as though they're here to stay  
**__**Oh I believe in yesterday…"**_

* * *

Caroline sucked in a breath suddenly feeling like all the air had been punched out of her gut. Her head was spinning and she had to blink a few times, expecting him to have disappeared each time she opened her eyes but he remained there. As she took in his familiar lean frame that was accentuated by the dark suit he wore, his short dirty-blonde curls that were fixed with some type of product, and finally as she took in every detail about his handsome face that she had memorized in the past, those dimples she knew would make her knees go weak, and those beautiful blue eyes that she could lose herself in, she felt a surge of mixed emotions that made her gasp for more air. She needed to get out of that room; she needed to get away from _him._

She moved to walk around him but had taken no more than a few steps when she felt his warm and calloused hand reach out and catch her by her wrist. She took in another breath and closed her eyes as she furiously fought back the tears before turning on him.

"What do you want Klaus?" she asked coldly.

He didn't answer her immediately, his mind momentarily distracted and hurt by the harshness of her tone but then he reminded himself that he really shouldn't have expected anything different. It was bittersweet hearing her voice again; hearing her sweet voice that he had found himself searching out everywhere he went for the last three years and now that he finally heard it again, it was tainted with bitterness and anger toward him. He forced himself to not focus on that and instead let his eyes roam over her and memorize every detail about her to his memory again.

Not that he had ever forgotten but as she stood in front of him, he realized how his own memory had not served her beauty justice. Her golden blonde locks were longer than he remembered and he had to fight every fiber in his being to keep from reaching out and running his finger through those soft locks again. She looked exquisite in that dress that hugged her curves in all the right places and brought out her creamy white skin that much more. The darkness of the dress contrasted with her soft blue eyes, the eyes he had imagined seeing so many times throughout the years. The eyes that had once looked at him with such warmness and care now stared at him with anger, hurt, and resentment.

"What do you want?" she repeated in a voice that sounded exhausted and wary.

He opened his mouth to answer but quickly closed it. He had wanted to see her up close, to hear her voice, to talk to her again, that's what he had wanted when he came after her but he couldn't tell her that. Not anymore.

She looked at him through the tears still in her eyes and saw as he opened his mouth and for a brief moment she felt a glimmer of hope for some reason she couldn't explain, but then she saw him quickly close it and she shook her head sadly as one traitorous tear ran down her face. What had she honestly expected from him?

"Goodbye Klaus," she said in a quiet voice that sounded almost empty.

With that, she removed her arm from his hold and walked away without a second look at him. As she walked out of the kitchen, she felt the burning and tingling sensation from where his hand had made contact and she quickly chastised herself for _still_ being so receptive to his touch.

She had barely turned the corner out into the hall when she released the breath she had been holding and quickly started inhaling air into her lungs again as she fought to stop her body from trembling.

"There you are babe. I've been looking for you. There are some people I want you to meet," Matt said excitedly as he turned out into the hallway and saw her standing there. He put an arm around her waist and gently pulled her inside.

"Matt I-" she started to say before he led her to a group of some men in fine business suits that Caroline had never met before.

"Gentlemen, this is my girlfriend and soon to be fiancé, Caroline Forbes," Matt said with a bright smile as they stopped in front of the men.

Caroline quickly glanced up at him but turned back to smile at the men as they all offered their congratulations.

"Caroline these are the Savoretti brothers I had told you about and their business associates, Jack Lewis and Martin Anderson," Matt said as Caroline shook each of the gentlemen's hands.

"Matt has been raving about you. Talks about what an important asset you are to the company," the one named Martin said.

"He's just biased," Caroline said with an embarrassed smile.

"I'm biased?" Matt asked incredulously. "That's why you're going to be working as Elijah's Mikaelson's right hand?"

Caroline shot him a look but didn't get to say anything before one of the Savoretti brothers spoke up.

"So Miss Forbes, would you agree with Mr. Donovan here that should we choose to invest with your company, our investments would be well protected and reimbursed?" he asked with a flirtatious smile that made her feel oddly uncomfortable as he openly let his eyes rake over her slowly.

She turned to look at Matt but saw that he was smiling at her encouragingly.

"Yes, we have some of the finest business men working at our corporation and we have the incredible guidance of our boss Alaric Saltzman. Now that we are partnering with Mikaelson Corps., all of our investors are only gaining more talented and smart business men to protect and double their investments. Elijah Mikaelson and his family are incredibly capable and intelligent business leaders that will surely work well alongside Mr. Saltzman and make the company and by extension, the investors, more prosperous," she said firmly, looking at all of the men as she spoke.

When she finished, the brother that had spoken up looked at her with a pleased smirk before bringing up his hands to clap slowly.

"Very eloquently spoken and obviously very passionate about her work. I wonder Miss Forbes, what else are you passionate about?" he asked with a sly smirk, his eyes roaming over her figure again lustfully and unashamedly.

She looked at him with an incredulous expression and had to bite her tongue to keep from going off on him in front of everyone.

"I'm very passionate about freeing all the animals and women's rights. I mean seriously, why should men get paid more for doing the exact same job that a woman does? I don't understand, is our genitalia doing our job for us?" she said innocently, enjoying the shocked expression on the brother's face.

"Okay babe," Matt said with a small laugh, giving her a quizzical look.

"If you'll excuse me gentlemen," she said sweetly before turning and walking away.

She had not gotten very far when she felt a hand tug on her arm.

"Care what the hell was that?" Matt asked her incredulously as he turned her to face him.

"Seriously?" she asked almost angrily. "That guy was looking at me like I was some piece of meat he could pull into the back room for a quickie and you have the nerve to ask me what the hell that was?"

"God Caroline why are you so paranoid?" he shot back. "You're hot okay? Men are going to check you out. It doesn't mean everyone wants to jump into bed with you."

She felt the anger surge through her and could swear she had never hated him more than right then.

"These men are potential investors and with the way you acted right now-"

"Go to hell," she said in a quiet voice, her voice quivering with anger. "I will not act like the office whore just to keep your precious investors happy."

She turned to walk away again but was once again stopped when he tugged on her arm.

"Caroline stop being so dramatic," he said almost angrily. "Quit blowing everything out of proportion."

She was about to respond when they were interrupted by the arrival of Matt's sister and her date. When Caroline looked at the guy hanging by Vicki's arm, her heart fell and she felt like she was about to pass out.

"Trouble in paradise baby bro?" Vicki asked with a smirk as she looked between the two.

Caroline tried to remember how to get air back into her lungs and refused to meet her date's gaze that was currently fixed on her with so much hatred, she could almost feel it burning into her bones.

"No, we just had a slight disagreement right babe?" Matt asked her tensely.

She looked at him but said nothing, feeling like her voice had evaporated with the arrival of Vicki and her date.

"Well whatever, just wanted to say happy birthday to my little bro and introduce you to my date, Tyler Lockwood," Vicki said with a coy smile.

"Tyler Lockwood, your name sounds familiar. Have we met before?" Matt asked curiously as he shook Tyler's hand.

"No I don't believe we have," Tyler said as he shook Matt's hand. "I do believe I've met your girlfriend though. It's been a while hasn't it Caroline?"

Caroline forced herself to look up at him, refusing to be intimidated even though inside she felt lightheaded and her heart was on the verge of giving out because of how fast it was beating.

"How do you two know each other?" Vicki asked curiously as she and Matt exchanged curious glances.

"It's a great story. Caroline why don't you tell it?" Tyler asked with a smile, though Caroline could hear the slight edge to his voice.

"There you are Caroline," a female voice said from behind her and Caroline turned to see a young woman she had never met before approaching her. "Elijah and Katherine have been looking all over the place for you. I have strict orders to drag you back with me once I found you," she said with a smile and quickly looked at the others who were eyeing her curiously, "Sorry guys. Katherine will have my head if I don't take her back with me."

Caroline looked at the woman curiously but decided to go along with her, thankful for the escape she was providing. She was turning to leave when Tyler took her hand in his and brought it up to his lips.

"I'll be seeing you around Caroline Forbes," he said in a quiet and almost menacing voice that sent a shiver, and not the good kind, down her spine.

Caroline said nothing and quickly walked away with the mysterious girl.

"Thank you so much you could not have had better timing," Caroline said as soon as they were far away enough.

"It wasn't a problem. My boss said you could use with the rescuing," the girl said with a smile. "And now that my work here is finished, I should probably get back. I believe I saw Katherine and Elijah outside."

"Wait, they didn't actually send you?" Caroline asked in confusion.

The girl quickly shook her head with a small laugh before walking away in the opposite direction. Caroline looked on after the girl in confusion before she saw Katherine walking toward her.

"There you are. Where the hell did you run off to?" Katherine asked as soon as she reached her. "What's wrong?"

"Everything," Caroline answered weakly. _Klaus is here. Tyler is here. Why does the universe fucking hate me?_

"Come on, let's get you some air. Elijah wants to talk to you anyway," Katherine said as she gave her a pointed look that caused Caroline to groan out loud.

Klaus watched from a short distance as Caroline and his future sister-in-law walked away and he had to refrain from going after her but he would not act so impulsively again besides, she already had enough to deal with. He thought back to the confrontation he had seen between Matt and Caroline and the protective instinct he felt surge through him. He shook his head as he reminded himself that was not his place anymore. He scolded himself and his foolish decision of going there that night. What was his purpose going there that night and following her out? Why hadn't he been able to take his eyes off of her since the moment he spotted her? He clenched his jaw in annoyance. He couldn't let Caroline have these effects on him, not anymore. _She moved on. She's with somebody else_ he reminded himself bitterly.

"There you are. Where did you run off to?" he heard a female voice call out to him and looked up to see his companion walking toward him.

"Just mingling and enjoying the party," he shrugged.

"You're being even more odd and cryptic than usual but I saw your brother outside. Should we go out to meet him?" she asked as she reached him.

He groaned at the thought.

"I really don't feel like sitting around with him and a bunch of board members arguing about what's best for the company," he said in a voice stiff with annoyance.

"I thought that was the whole reason we were here?" she asked in confusion.

_Yeah, that's what I tried to tell myself too_ he thought to himself.

"Klaus, you're being so strange and telling me not to ask any questions but seriously, why are we here and why did-"

"Let's get a drink and see how I feel after that. Maybe we can meet with my brother after that," he said tensely, leading her toward the bar and ignoring the questioning looks she was throwing his way.

* * *

Outside, Caroline was sitting with Elijah, Katherine, Alaric Saltzman, a good friend of Caroline's and her current boss, and his wife Meredith. Elijah and Alaric were deep in conversation about the merger when Katherine and Caroline joined them so Katherine and Meredith had quickly struck up a conversation about wedding details and while Caroline would interject a comment every here and there, her mind was elsewhere.. She kept glancing around for any sign of Klaus or Tyler but didn't see either of them anywhere.

"Who are you looking for?" Katherine asked finally when she caught Caroline looking around _again_.

"What are you talking about?" Caroline asked innocently.

"You looking around every few seconds. Who are you looking for?" Katherine asked again.

"Maybe she's looking for someone to come rescue her from these boring conversations," Alaric joked as he looked at her with a grin on his face. "I'm sorry for falling into those stereotypes and talking only about work. I haven't even congratulated you for your new position! When Elijah approached me about the job and before he even mentioned you, I already had your name in mind."

"See Caroline? Elijah's not the only one who thinks you are a good fit for this job and are capable of doing it fine," Katherine said with a pointed look.

"Are you kidding? You're more than capable. Our company would have been in so much bigger trouble if I didn't have you there to guide me," Alaric said with a warm smile. "So let's make a toast to the merger and Caroline's new position which she will excel in without a problem."

"Mind if I join in on this little toast?" came _his_ accented from behind her and Katherine.

Caroline almost jumped out her skin and quickly turned her head to see him standing there with his dimpled smile that used to make her heart grow wild in her chest, much like it was doing now.

"What the hell?" Katherine said at the same time that Elijah asked him what he was doing there.

"Big brother you don't seem too pleased to see me," Klaus said with mocked offense.

"I'm simply surprised to see you here. I was not expecting you until the wedding," Elijah said tensely as he glanced over at Caroline who was busy staring at her champagne glass.

"There was a change in plans," he answered with an innocent shrug. "Now about the toast that we were about to make," he added with that same smile as before.

Alaric and Meredith turned to look at each other with confusion evident on both of their expressions, both aware at the obvious tension that had befallen the table but raised their glasses nonetheless as did everyone else. They both watched in surprise as the other four finished their champagne in one drink.

"Sorry which brother would this be?" Alaric asked to break the tension.

"Niklaus MIkaelson but everyone knows me as Klaus," he answered with a smirk as he walked over to shake Alaric's hand.

"Ah yes. You're in charge of the branch in Paris," Alaric said as he tried to recall the profiles of all of Elijah's brothers.

Before Klaus got to say anything, a pretty woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties joined them. _It was the same woman who came to rescue her earlier._ She had long dark hair and light green eyes and was wearing a short strapless red dress and a pair of black heels that elongated her legs.

"You know some people consider it rude to keep running off without letting the other person know where you're going," she said with a slight eye roll as she reached their table.

Klaus rolled his eyes and glanced at Caroline who was eyeing the newcomer curiously.

"And who might this be brother?" Elijah asked quietly but Klaus knew him well enough to hear the underlying tension in his voice.

"This is Davina, she is my personal assistant," Klaus answered calmly, keeping his eyes on Caroline the entire time and felt his heart quicken when her eyes shot up to meet his when he introduced her but then she quickly looked away.

"Hi everyone," Davina said with a small smile before turning to look at Elijah. "It's nice to finally meet you in person after dealing with you so much on the phone. Also, Klaus talks about you a lot."

"Davina why don't you go mingle and enjoy yourself for the time being?" Klaus said quickly, giving her an annoyed and pointed look.

"Whatever you say boss," she said with an eye roll before excusing herself.

"Wow she seems a little feisty," Alaric commented with a small laugh once she was gone.

"Oh believe me, she doesn't compare to others I've worked with," Klaus responded with an odd undertone, glancing over at Caroline again who was refusing to meet his gaze.

"I wish my boss would pay to fly me to places. Are all of your personal assistants this spoiled?" Meredith asked the rest of them. "I know Alaric here isn't that generous," she teased.

"That's because I never go anywhere woman!" he responded with mocked offense.

"Klaus has always been very generous with his personal assistants as long as they're useful to him right?" Katherine asked with a tight smile, her voice dripping in sarcasm and something else.

"There you go again making assumptions about me without knowing the whole story," Klaus answered with a smirk that did not match the edge to his voice.

"Perhaps we should discuss something else or Katherine, how about we finally share that dance I promised you earlier?" Elijah asked tensely as he stood and extended his hand out to her. "Niklaus perhaps you should go find some of the board members and properly introduce yourself since they've only interacted with you via online conference calls."

"That's a great idea. I know they're all curious to meet the rest of the Mikaelson's and perhaps meeting you would ease some of their tensions," Alaric said with a strained undertone. "I can accompany you-" he was saying before he caught sight of the look Meredith was shooting him, "I could come with you after I share a dance with my wife."

"Such a thoughtful husband," Meredith teased with a small laugh.

"That would be perfect," Klaus answered in a tight voice, already dreading the idea of having to meet all these old greedy bastards.

He caught sight of Katherine turning to look at Caroline who looked like she was getting ready to excuse herself.

"Caroline perhaps you do me the honor of sharing this dance with me?" he asked quickly, extending his hand out to her.

She snapped up her eyes to meet his again and he was pleased to see the blush that overcame her and how flustered she got as she quickly looked away.

"I should really get back inside, I'm sure Matt will be wondering-" she started to say in a high-pitched voice before he interrupted her.

"He seemed perfectly entertained while I was in there. Come on love, it's just one dance," he insisted with his gaze fixed on her.

He didn't miss the way her entire body stiffened when he called her love.

"Yeah come on Caroline, take a load off and enjoy yourself for a change. Matt won't mind and I assure you the party will not fall apart during one song," Alaric teased as he also stood up and took Meredith's hand.

Caroline looked up at Alaric and Meredith and gave them both a small smile before slowly standing up. _You can do this Caroline. It's just one stupid, meaningless dance. It's been three years. He does not bother you anymore._

She caught sight of Katherine's and Elijah's wary looks and gave them both the best reassuring smiles she could force before turning to face Klaus.

"After you," he said with a smirk as he motioned toward the dance floor where other people were dancing.

She walked silently next to him and turned to face him once they reached the dance floor. As soon as she felt him put a hand on her lower back and take her hand in his, she instantly regretted her decision. She brought up a shaky hand to rest it on his shoulder and sucked in a breath when she felt him pull her in closer so that her chest was almost flush with his. She involuntarily sucked in a breath, something that did not go unnoticed by him.

"You know how to put on quite the party sweetheart," he said after a few moments of silence.

"Don't call me that," she snapped almost immediately, bringing up her gaze to meet his.

"Very well," he answered tensely. "Perhaps we can discuss more mannered subjects?"

"Or perhaps we can just not talk at all?" she retorted coldly. "You seem to be good at doing that."

He looked at her and she could see the hurt and something else flash in his eyes but he didn't say anything. They both danced in tense silence, averting each other's gazes when she caught sight of Davina standing off to the side of the dance floor, looking at them curiously.

"Your assistant is looking for you," she remarked in a tense voice and looked up at to see him looking straight ahead like she had not said anything. "Did you send her to come rescue me from Tyler earlier?"

Again he said nothing and kept looking straight ahead. Almost like he could feel her gaze burning into him, he looked down at her after a few moments.

"You said you didn't want to talk," he reminded her and smirked when she scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I forgot how annoying you could be," she said tensely.

"How am I being annoying? I am simply following your orders and repeating your words. Perhaps that indicates that you are the one who is annoying?" he said innocently, a hint of amusement in his voice and eyes.

"I also forgot what a smart ass you could be," she answered with an eye roll.

"I didn't forget how feisty and witty you are," he responded with an amused smirk.

She gritted her teeth and glared at him for a few moments, fighting to control her temper that she seemed to lose quickly when she was with him. She had never met anyone who could get under her skin the way Klaus did.

"Why are you even here Klaus?" she asked in a tense voice after a few moments. "Surely it wasn't just so that you could follow me into the kitchen and send your assistant to come rescue me?"

He looked down at her and met her gaze, all traces of amusement gone but still didn't say anything for a while.

"There were some pressing matters I had to attend to," he said finally.

"What pressing matters could you possibly have to deal with at my boyfriend's birthday party?" she asked incredulously.

"Ah yes, your boyfriend's birthday party," he said in a tight voice. "Seems like quite a catch you got there," he added sarcastically.

She looked away and said nothing, feeling her irritation with Matt rise again but she wasn't about share that with Klaus of all people.

"I hear things are getting pretty serious between you two?" he asked with an edge to his voice, his gaze burning into hers.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," she said in a shaky voice, feeling overwhelmed by the intensity of his stare.

"What do you see in him? The guy has no spine and is obviously more interested in his business affairs than he is in you," he said seriously, the anger evident in his voice.

"Why should you care?" she retorted, feeling the tears sting in her eyes.

"Just making small and friendly conversation," he shrugged but the intensity of his voice betrayed him.

"Friendly conversation?" she scoffed with the anger audible in her voice. "Why would you make friendly conversation with me when we're not even friends? We never were."

"Caroline," he said tensely, knowing where she was heading with this.

"We were nothing but employer and employee remember?" she finished with tears in her eyes, her gaze still fixed on his.

As soon as she said this, they both stopped moving and stood there silently staring at each other. She saw that flicker of unidentifiable emotion cross his eyes and saw him open his mouth to speak but nothing came out. She shook her head and fought back the tears, refusing to cry in front of him again.

"That's what I thought," she said in a small voice before she pulled away from him and quickly walked away before he could stop her.

She hurriedly made her way toward the exit through the back without seeking out Matt or any of her other friends. She just needed to get as far away from this place and from him as soon as possible. She was coming around one of the sides when she caught sight of Tyler standing against the wall by himself smoking. She sucked in a breath and was starting to turn around again when he saw her. _Shit._

"Caroline Forbes. Two encounters in one night, must be my lucky night," he said in a voice dripping with disdain as he flicked his cigarette away and walked toward her slowly, almost like a predator stalking his prey.

"Tyler please. I don't want any trouble I just want to go home," she said in as firm a voice as she could muster.

"Oh she doesn't want any trouble?" he repeated sarcastically. "Do you hear that ladies and gentlemen? She doesn't want any trouble, she just wants to go home."

She shook her head angrily and tried to move past him but he stepped in front of her and blocked her way. She moved around him again but he grabbed her arms firmly and turned her toward him.

"Tyler don't do this," she said in a shaky voice as she saw the anger in his eyes.

"Don't do what Caroline? Ruin your life? Destroy your family? Hm?" he asked in a cold voice. "Don't do what? Don't worry, I won't do any of those things. Only a cold and calculating bitch like you would do something like that."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" she yelled angrily through tears that had formed in her eyes.

"Don't I?" he mocked. "Other people may believe your "good girl" story but I know the slut that you really are."

She was opening her mouth to say something when she saw a hand tap him on the shoulder and everything seemed like a blur after that. She saw Tyler turn and as soon as he did, a fist connected with his jaw and Caroline looked up with wide eyes to see Klaus looking down at Tyler and he looked positively livid.

"Klaus," she whispered breathlessly.

"That's no way to talk to a lady mate," he hissed keeping his eyes on Tyler who slowly got up and started laughing bitterly.

"I think the word 'lady' is applied far too liberally here wouldn't you say?" Tyler said bitterly and before he could properly stand up, Klaus had already knocked him out again.

"Keep talking and soon you'll be holding your own spleen in your hand you pathetic-"

"Niklaus!" Elijah said loudly behind him as he rushed toward them.

Caroline looked at the scene unfolding before her with horrified eyes.

"That's right, jump in to defend your whore's honor," Tyler snickered as he cupped his bloody nose.

Elijah reached them just as Klaus was getting ready to punch Tyler again.

"Enough Niklaus!" Elijah said as he restrained his brother before turning to look at Caroline. "Why don't you head inside Caroline? I'll take care of things out here."

Caroline looked at them dumbfounded for a few moments before Elijah insisted again that she go inside. She glanced at Tyler and Klaus one last time before she hurried away, wiping away the tears she had not been aware of. She made it outside and was waiting for the valet to bring her car around when she heard the sound of heels quickly approaching her.

"Care where are you going?" Elena asked from behind.

"I need to go home. Something came up," she said quickly, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.

"Your mom just got here," Elena informed her, looking at her curiously.

Caroline let out a frustrated sigh. Of course her mom would get there right when she needed to leave. She knew she shouldn't just leave her mom like this but she couldn't stay. Not after everything that had taken place.

"Are you okay? Are you not feeling well again?" Elena asked hurriedly, concern evident in her voice when she saw Caroline wipe away some tears.

"I'm fine don't worry. I just pushed it tonight and plus I really need to get back to my dad. I promised Jeremy I wouldn't be home too late," she said quickly, wishing that the valet would hurry up and bring her car to her. "Could you do me a favor and tell my mom I'm really sorry and I'll make it up to her later?"

She knew the least she could do was talk to her mom herself but she knew if she went back in there, she would probably be forced into staying and she just couldn't handle that right now.

"Do you need one of us to go with you? I can tell Damon-" Elena was saying.

"No it's okay. Honestly, I'm fine I just need to get out of these heels and get some rest. I think I'm going to call it an early night," Caroline said with the best reassuring smile she could muster.

"Are you sure? I can come with you and I'm sure Bonnie wouldn't mind either," Elena insisted.

"I'm fine Elena I promise," she answered with a small smile and gave her a friend a quick hug.

As she was pulling back she felt like someone was staring at her and looked up to see Klaus standing off to the side at the top of the stairs, his gaze fixed on her. Her gaze instantly locked on his for a moment before she forced herself to look away and quickly got in the car. As she drove away, she had to resist the urge to turn and look back at him one final time but she knew she couldn't. Not after he left without so much as a second look at her three years ago. With that thought, she let her head fall back against the seat and as the tears started streaming down her face again and she was powerless to stop them. _  
_

* * *

Klaus watched her drive off, feeling the lump in his throat. He turned away as Elena walked past him to avoid having to be confronted by her. He wasn't in the mood. Truthfully he wasn't sure what he hoped to accomplish with Caroline tonight but he had not expected to watch her leave upset the way she did. The thought of Tyler saying those things to her made him see red again and he wanted to go in there and find him and beat him to a pulp. _Damn Elijah showing up when he did. _

"What the hell did you do? Where's Caroline?" Katherine asked angrily behind him.

He turned around to see a very angry Katherine and annoyed Elijah walking toward him and he instantly felt his insides churn.

"I believe she just left," he answered in a tense voice.

"Because you did something," she accused bitingly. "Why did you even bother showing up here?"

"My concerns are none of your business," he shot back, his anger quickly reeling out of control.

"They sure as hell are when they involve my friend who you've already screwed over in the past," she spat. "Why don't you go fuck your new assistant and leave Caroline alone?"

"Enough!" Elijah said loudly just then, seeing how the conversation was getting out of hand very quickly and not in the mood to have to stop another fight for his brother tonight. "Katherine, please return inside while I discuss a few matters with my brother."

Katherine crossed her arms across her chest and silently glared at Klaus as he did the same thing.

"Katherine please," he repeated in a serious voice and watched as she angrily glared at both of them once more before walking away.

"Quite a lovely bride you found for yourself Elijah," Klaus said sarcastically as soon as Katherine was gone.

"This has nothing to do with Katherine," Elijah retorted angrily. "She has every right to be upset with you. Caroline is her friend."

Klaus rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth but said nothing.

"Why did you come here tonight Niklaus?" Elijah asked seriously. "Was it only to cause trouble with the Lockwood boy?"

Klaus let out an irritated sigh and clenched his teeth in anger.

"You should've let me finish teaching that son of a bitch a lesson," he said angrily.

"Enough Niklaus. What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how this would have reflected on Caroline had anyone seen? People would have started asking questions-"

"What was I supposed to do Elijah? Just stand there and listen to him insult her that way?" he spat.

"I understand your anger but you have to think rationally. Do you think people have not insulted her in the past? You did not have to deal with the aftermath of everything that happened here; you can't even begin to imagine what it was like not just for her. After you left she had to deal with everything on her own and defend herself. She is tougher than you think, she had to learn to be," Elijah said seriously.

Klaus had to clench his teeth and remained silently seething for a few moments not wanting to think about that part of his life and feel that shame that was sure to come.

"What did you do with that dog anyway?" he asked after a long time.

"I told him to leave immediately before I called the police," Elijah answered tensely. "I understand your anger better than anybody but you can't get into a fist fight with everyone who insults her Niklaus."

Again he said nothing for a while, trying to reel in his anger.

"I see you offered Caroline the position," he said after a few moments, desperate to change the subject. "Judging by the reaction I saw, she's still unsure about it?"

Elijah let out an exhausted sigh before looking back at Klaus curiously.

"She naturally has her reservations about accepting a position where she would be working for us again," he answered tensely, giving him a pointed look. "And you coming here tonight probably did not do much to help our cause."

"You need to make sure she accepts it," Klaus said seriously. "I don't care what you have to do, what you have to promise her, just do it."

"Why do you care so much? First you jump in to defend her honor and now you're adamant about her taking this position. Why is it so important?" Elijah asked curiously. "I agree with you that she is perfectly capable to take on the position but she is not the only one. I can think of a few others-"

"No," Klaus growled. "We've already discussed this Elijah. It has to be her. She needs the extra income now more than ever and this is a perfect opportunity for her."

Elijah studied his brother for a few moments without saying anything.

"This isn't just about what's best for the company is it? It's about what's also best for Caroline and her personal affairs?" he said quietly.

Klaus clenched his jaw and glared at his brother.

"Just do what we had agreed on," he said through gritted teeth. "And remember, not a word of this to anyone including that charming fiancé of yours."

With that he walked past Elijah and went to retrieve his car. As he got into his car and drove away, he replayed every encounter he had with Caroline in his mind and couldn't help the bitter feeling that overcame him. She was with somebody else now and after what he had done, she would never be with him again. He quickly shook his head and reminded himself he didn't care. He didn't care about Caroline Forbes anymore. She had moved on and so had he.

* * *

As Caroline pulled into her driveway, she took a moment to pull herself together and wipe away the traces of mascara that had streaked while she had been crying. She saw she had two missed calls from Katherine but decided she would call her back later. She sucked in a breath and gave herself the mental talk she always did right before going home and having to face her dad who was getting progressively worst. It was always hard on her but tonight would be that much more difficult. When she walked inside, she was surprised to be greeted by the sight of her friend Stefan Salvatore with his books and note cards spread out everywhere on her coffee table.

"Hey," Stefan said with a smile as he turned to see who walked in. "You're home early. I wasn't expecting you for at least another few hours."

"I'm feeling kind of tired. I think I over did it with the whole setup and everything," she lied quickly.

"Are you okay?" he asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"Why does everyone keep worrying?" she asked with a small smile. "Yes I'm fine, just feeling a little tired honestly. Where's Jeremy anyway?"

"He left about an hour ago for his date. He finally asked out that intern he's been crushing on," he said with a slight grin.

"Good for him," she said with a smile. "I wish I would've known I wouldn't have asked him to watch my dad tonight," she added with a frown.

"Don't worry about it. I had tonight off anyway," Stefan reassured her.

"Yeah so that you could study for your boards," Caroline said guiltily.

"It's okay I was able to study here," he said. "Hey, you know we don't mind helping you and Bill" he added when he saw her unconvinced look.

"I know I just hate inconveniencing everyone, especially after all the help you guys gave me while I was in the hospital," she said with a frown.

"You're not inconveniencing us," he reassured her again. "You need help with your dad, you can't do it alone."

"I know," she sighed as she took a seat on the couch across from him.

"Have you thought about taking him back to-"

"No, that's not an option," Caroline said quickly before he could finish. "He hates it there. He needs to be home where he doesn't feel alone and he can be with me."

"I understand Care but you have to admit that you can't take care of him by yourself and you need more help than what your mom or we can give you," he said gently.

"I've been doing just fine-" she started to argue.

"You had to be hospitalized because of how much you overworked yourself and the amount of stress you're under," he argued. "Look, I know you have a lot on your plate as it is and I'm really not trying to add on to your stress but I want you to really think about it. Maybe you can look into hiring a nurse that could watch him around the clock?"

She looked at him and let out a sigh that sounded both frustrated and exhausted.

"I can't afford that on top of all his medical bills and my mom is already helping enough as it is," she said in a defeated voice.

"I understand and if I could offer any help-"

"You guys are already doing enough," she said with a sad smile. "Thanks Stefan, really for everything. I wouldn't have been able to get through everything during these past few months without you guys."

"You have nothing to thank us for Care, we've always been there for each other. That's not going to change anytime soon," he said with a small smile.

After Stefan left, Caroline sat on the couch thinking over Stefan's words for a few moments longer before she quietly walked down the hall toward her father's bedroom where he lied in a deep sleep. He was on new medications that really wore him out so he slept most of the time now. She quietly crept inside the room and took a seat in the chair next to his bed. She gently took his hand in hers and felt the tears form in her eyes as she took in his frail form.

"I wish you could tell me what to do daddy. You always told me how tough I am and how I could handle everything but now I'm not so sure. What do I do?"

She sat there silently for a long time, listening to her father's quiet breathing and finding it oddly calmly. She stood up after a while and wiped away the stray tears and slowly sat up to kiss him on his forehead.

"Goodnight daddy. Don't quit on me now," she said in a small voice.

When she made it upstairs to her room lied on her bed and closed her eyes and saw his again; she could hear the sound of his voice, feel his arms around her and see the anger in his eyes as he looked at Tyler. _Why are you back Klaus? Why now? _She quickly shook her head again, chastising herself for still letting him consume her thoughts. She shouldn't care about Klaus Mikaelson; she _didn't _care. She had moved on; she was a different person than the one he left behind and she would prove that to him and everyone else but as these thoughts crossed her mind she couldn't help the panic that set in when one question rose to the forefront of her mind: _how long is he back for?_

She groaned into her pillow.

"Who did I kill in my last lifetime? Why do you hate me so much universe?" she grumbled loudly to her ceiling.

She was startled when she heard the sound of the doorbell just then. She was wondering who it could be at this hour when she heard the doorbell ring again and quickly rushed downstairs before her dad woke up. She quickly grabbed the pepper spray she kept next to the door before she answered. _You could never be too safe after all_. She opened the door and when she saw who was standing there, she instinctively pressed down on the tiny bottle and then gasped loudly as soon as she did.

"Oh shit…"

* * *

**Thanks for reading everyone and thank you again for giving this story a chance! Sorry kind of a weird spot to leave off but this chapter was already getting way too long. Any thoughts as to who's at the door? S/N: This is not your typical Caroline/Klaus/Tyler love triangle just wanted to clarify that now. We'll find out what their little history is later on and we'll also move a little more quickly in the next chapters & see more interactions between other characters. First chapters are always the slowest because I'm still setting up backgrounds & introducing characters. Anyway, please leave me your thoughts, let me know if there are any characters you want to see more of, etc. I love to hear from you guys so please don't be shy! :) Happy Easter!**


	3. Chapter 3-Take Me Back To The Start

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the long gap between updates, things have been hectic & crazy but this is a longer chapter to make up for it! Thank you so much to Jackiezn, Cookiiemonster94, Ellavm18, Marina & Guests for your reviews! Lol Marina I have very low tolerance for anyone who isn't pro-Caroline as well, in the show & just about everywhere haha. I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so far, this chapter also establishes more of their history. Hope you guys enjoy it & please forgive any errors you catch!**

* * *

Caroline felt like she saw everything in slow motion. She swung the door open, saw him standing there opening his mouth to speak and next second, he's looking away, holding his eyes and groaning out loud as the tears start streaming down his face.

"Klaus," she gasped as she brought up a hand to her mouth.

She couldn't lie, the sight of him at that moment was somewhat amusing but she wasn't about to laugh in his face when he was obviously in pain.

"Were you expecting a burglar sweetheart?" he groaned as he continued to hold his eyes and wipe the tears that were freely flowing down his face.

"No I wasn't expecting anyone at all actually and these days you can never be too sure," she answered a little defensively.

"Oh for fuck's sake how do I make this stop?" he groaned as he rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his suit jacket.

"Here, come inside. You can rinse out your eyes," she said as she stepped back to let him in.

When it was obvious that he couldn't really keep his eyes open, she took him by the elbow and led him toward the kitchen sink. While he was rinsing his eyes with cold water, she walked to the bathroom to get a couple of clean washcloths, a dry one and dampened one with some cold water as well. As she walked out, she stopped by her father's room to check on him and saw that he was thankfully still sound asleep.

She quietly walked back to the kitchen where Klaus was still rinsing his eyes and had to suppress back another laugh as she saw him practically trying to stick his whole head underneath the faucet.

"Do you need me to get you anything?" she asked a little awkwardly, not sure how to help.

She watched him shake his head as he kept rinsing his eyes for a little longer. He turned off the faucet after a while and turned around. Although she still looked kind of blurry, he could definitely make her out a lot clearer than before. He was still squinting but the burning sensation was more tolerable.

"Perhaps I should get you a peephole for your door so that your future guests don't suffer the same fate as myself," he said as he looked around for something to dry himself with when she walked over and handed him one of the dry washcloths.

"Here you can dry yourself with this and then put this one over your eyes and keep them closed for a few minutes," she said in a somewhat distant voice as she handed him the washcloths.

He noticed that she carefully avoided making any direct contact with his hands as she did and the realization made his chest constrict in an odd way.

"Maybe you should sit down," she added as she stepped back and walked next to him to her living room.

He sat down on one couch and again he noticed that she sat down in the opposite couch, putting as much distance between them as possible. He felt a knot form in his throat but he said nothing and simply put the washcloth over his eyes and let his head fall back a little. He was contemplating what to say to her when he was surprised to hear the light sound of her laughter. He quickly sat up and removed the material from over his eyes to look at her with a confused expression.

"I'm sorry I'm not trying to laugh but you really should have seen how you looked," she said between muffled laughter as she tried to stop laughing.

He felt himself frown a little at the thought that she was laughing at him, especially since she was the one to put him in that position in the first place, but as he heard her laughter, he couldn't deny there was something contagious about it and as he thought about it, he was pretty sure he looked ridiculous. He shook his head with a small smirk and chuckled a little when he heard her continue laughing. He couldn't deny that it was nice to hear her laugh for a change, especially after the state she had left the party in. So he sat there, listening to the sound of her laughter and for a moment he could almost pretend that things were like they were a little over three years ago. He knew this moment wouldn't last so he decided he was going to enjoy it as long as he could. After three years of being without her, he would take whatever moments he could get because as fleeting as they were, they were better than the agony he had faced alone.

* * *

Elijah walked around the car tensely, following after a very annoyed Katherine. She had said very little to him since he had sent her back inside at the party, something which was beginning to make him grow impatient. As he followed her into their bedroom, he was preparing to talk to her when she walked straight into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

"Katherine please, how long are you going to remain upset with me?" He asked tensely through the door.

"How long is that asshole of your brother going to be around?" she retorted from behind the door.

He sighed in frustration. This night was not turning out at all the way he anticipated it to. He had been dreading the announcement of the merger but as it turned out, that was the least of his worries.

Katherine swung the door open just then and walked past him in nothing but her black lace bra and panties. He almost groaned at the sight of her; she definitely knew how to play dirty.

"I was not aware of his plans to return so soon. I imagine that he'll be around at least until after the wedding," he answered tensely as he tried to look at anything but her.

"Until the wedding?" she almost shouted. "That's not for another month and a half!"

"What do you want to me to do Katherine?" he asked in a strained voice. "I cannot command him around as I choose even if I do wish it sometimes."

"Why is he back?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I know as much as you. He has always been private with his affairs-" he was saying before she snorted and laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, he's very private," she said sarcastically. "And when those affairs become not so private he abandons ship, consequences be damned."

"Everything was not so black and white. There were-"

"There were other issues?" she cut him off. "Oh yeah I know all about these other issues Elijah I was by your side through all of it remember? That's no excuse for what he did."

He looked at her for a few moments before saying anything, not sure what he could say. He realized she was not upset with him; she was upset with Klaus and that entire situation.

"You're worried about Caroline," he said in a quiet voice.

She crossed her arms angrily across her chest and looked at him with an arched eyebrow.

"I know he's your brother but I don't trust him and I definitely don't trust him near her," she said.

"I give you my word that I will keep an eye on him," he promised her in a serious voice. "Niklaus is my brother but that does not mean I agree with everything he does. I will not let him hurt Caroline again."

She studied him for a few moments but didn't see any signs of deception.

"You know what I find myself wondering a lot?" she asked. "After we saw her cry herself to sleep for _weeks_, I came home one day wishing that she had never met him. And then I walked into the room and saw you asleep and I couldn't help but wonder, would you and I have met if not for those two? The whole situation is a little fucked up don't you think?"

He looked at her sadly and said nothing. He wished he could tell her yes but in reality, he had wondered the same thing himself in the past.

"Elena asked me to give her more details about how we met so that she could include it in her speech and I questioned if it was even a good idea bringing up the night we met because that was the night they-"

"That was the night things started between them," he finished tensely for her.

He walked over to her and gently rubbed her shoulders for a few moments before speaking.

"Our story of how we met is not tainted or something we should avoid discussing. Our story is not theirs and yes, I can imagine it might be uncomfortable for both of them because of their own memories attached to that night, but I trust that they both care enough about us to put that aside and share in our happiness. They wouldn't have agreed to stand up there with us on the day of our wedding if it were otherwise," he said seriously. "I wouldn't trade anything about what happened that night," he added in a low voice before dipping his head and capturing her lips with his own.

"Why don't we just elope and avoid all the extra hassle?" she said with a devilish smirk before she kissed him lightly again.

He pulled her in to deepen the kiss before pulling back and chuckling at her suggestion.

"We both know your friends and Elena would demand your head and my own if we did that," he said with a smile before he kissed down her neck.

"For the record, I love the story about how we met. I found it a bit entertaining looking back on it," he added with an amused smile.

"That's because you thought I was a lesbian for half of the night thanks to that jackass of your brother," she muttered with an eye roll but couldn't help the grin that broke out on her face.

Admittedly, she had been annoyed at first but then she had grown amused by the entire situation after everything and it was during those moments she wished that Klaus had not ruined everything because once upon a time, she had actually liked him.

* * *

"_Caroline sweetheart I'm glad you made it," Klaus said with a smile as he saw her enter the large ballroom. _

_He took in how beautiful she looked in her deep red, floor length gown that accentuated her curves before fanning out. She had worn her long hair down in loose curls, his favorite look, and she wore more make-up than she normally wore to work, but still subtle enough to not detract from her natural beauty. _

"_Did I really have another choice than to be here?" she asked with a playful eye roll as she reached him. "You made it seem like it was basically mandatory that I come."_

"_I wouldn't exactly put it that way love. After I found out I was being forced to speak tonight, I merely suggested that you should come should you find yourself without anything to do this evening," he said innocently._

"_Right," she replied with an amused eye roll. "You sent me home early so that I could go shopping for something to wear tonight or have plenty of time to get ready.'"_

"_And I see you put that time to excellent use. You look positively ravishing sweetheart," he said with a wide smile that made her heart flutter._

_They were interrupted just then by the arrival of a beautiful brunette in a black, off the shoulder ball gown._

"_Well it didn't take very long for you to get bored of me and ditch me," she said to Caroline with a playful smirk._

"_Sorry Katherine I needed to-"_

"_Check in with your boss?" Katherine interrupted and eyed Klaus curiously. _

"_Yes," Caroline said with a small smile. "I'm sorry, this is my boss Klaus Mikaelson, and this is Katherine. She's Elena's twin and she's also my last minute date since you decided to spring this invitation on me with such little notice," she teased._

"_Your date?" he asked with an arched eyebrow and amused smirk._

_Caroline laughed while Katherine rolled her eyes, the smirk still in place._

"_It's a pity date really," Katherine teased as she shook Klaus' hand, ignoring the playful glare that Caroline shot her._

"_Well it seems there's still a lot I have to learn about you Caroline Forbes," Klaus smirked at her. _

_She looked back at him and shook her head with a smirk of her own._

"_Too bad now isn't the time since your brother just arrived with a very important looking gentleman who I'm sure will want to talk business," she said as she pointed out Elijah walking in with another gentleman. _

"_That's Marcel. He's currently running one of our branches in France but is in the middle of making the move back here," he explained. "I'm sure they would love to talk business but I find I am quite enjoying the company I have now," he smirked._

"_Nice try but you're here for business not pleasure remember?" she said with a grin. "I on the other hand, will be raiding their dessert table-"_

"_And their open bar," Katherine interjected and laughed when Caroline shot her a dirty look._

"_If you need me before you give your speech to run through it or something, just give me a call I have my phone on me," she said giving him one last smile before walking away with Katherine._

"_You failed to mention that your boss is hot and has an accent," Katherine said as soon as they were out of earshot._

"_I told you he was British," Caroline retorted ignoring the first part of her comment. "Goes to show how much you listen."_

"_So which brother was the one who walked in?" Katherine asked with a grin as she turned over her shoulder to see Klaus walking toward the two gentlemen that Caroline had pointed out._

"_Point proven," Caroline said with a small laugh before glancing over her shoulder. "Elijah?" she asked with an arched eyebrow and then laughed when she saw the expression on Katherine's face._

"_Elijah," Katherine repeated as she turned away so that they wouldn't catch her staring._

"_Liked what you saw huh?" Caroline asked with a smirk as they reached the open bar._

"_What's not to like?" Katherine responded cheekily. "He's hot I'll give him that but don't worry, I won't make a move on your boss' brother. Guys in suits are not really my type, I like them a little rough around the edges."_

"_Is my brother that useless he can't even make it through a company gala without your assistance?" came a voice from behind them just then._

_They both turned to see the youngest male Mikaelson walking toward them. He looked just as handsome as his brothers, dressed up in a black suit and grey tie with his dark hair combed into place with some product._

"_What can I say? He's lost without me," Caroline teased when she saw who it was._

"_You can say that again," he remarked with a smirk before turning to look at Katherine._

"_Kol this is my friend Katherine. Katherine this is Kol Mikaelson," Caroline said._

"_Another Mikaelson?" Katherine asked as Kol took her hand and brought it up to his lips._

"_I'm the only one worth knowing darling," he said with a flirtatious smile. "Isn't that right sweet Caroline? I think you got the short end of the stick when you were assigned to be Nik's personal assistant. I can assure you I am a much more fun employer," he added as he brought up her hand to his lips also._

"_What would working for you look like anyway? You're never there," she shot back with a laugh._

"_You offend me," he said with mocked offense. "I assure you I am working even when I'm not working."_

"_I'm sure your brothers agree," she teased._

"_That's because they don't know how to have lives outside of work," he said with an eye roll. "Except for Nik but he's nowhere near as fun as I am. Tell me you didn't have fun that weekend in Los Angeles?"_

_Caroline laughed as she remembered that week she had spent in California for a business conference. She had flown out there with all of the Mikaelson's, including Rebekah, and had attended conferences with them everyday for almost the entire day. They would always walk out exhausted with not much energy to go look around the city but Klaus promised her that he would show her around during the weekend before they left since she had never been. Unfortunately, he came down with a stomach flu during that last day of the conference and had to remain locked up in his hotel room. _

_Caroline had offered to stay behind and take care of him but he and Elijah had insisted that she go on so that she would not catch the same thing. After they got out of their last conference, Kol had taken it upon himself to show her around. Finn and Elijah had both declined Caroline's invitation to come along but Rebekah had agreed and so the three of them had set off on some adventures that she had not fully disclosed to Klaus or her friends yet._

"_Yeah, let's not talk about that right now," she said with a grimace and avoided Katherine's curious look._

"_I disagree. I think we should talk about it over some drinks," Katherine proposed with a devilish smile._

"_By all means lead the way," Kol said with the same devilish smile as he motioned toward the bar. _

_The three of them walked toward the bar and after getting their drinks, they all walked to find an empty table and Caroline glanced around to see if she saw any sign of Klaus. She spotted him across the room in deep conversation with a beautiful red head while Elijah and Marcel stood next to them, absorbed in their own conversation. Caroline didn't know why but she felt a stab of annoyance as she saw Klaus with the red head. She recognized her from the few times she had seen her in the past leaving Klaus' office after a quick lunch romp when she had first started working for him a little over a year ago. True, she had not seen her in several months but it didn't annoy her any less. _

"_Care to join us in the present darling?" Kol asked jokingly next to her._

"_What?" Caroline asked quickly, fighting back a blush at the thought that they had maybe caught her staring at Klaus and his companion._

"_We were just starting to talk about the body shots you did off of some singer that weekend in LA," Katherine said with a wicked grin._

"_Kol!" she exclaimed mortified. "You couldn't wait to put that out there could you?"_

_Kol laughed loudly; completely unfazed by the daggers she was currently shooting him with her look._

"_There's nothing to be ashamed of darling. We were just having a bit of fun," he said with a grin that Caroline found infuriating. "What made the entire situation even better was when the guy tried to convince her to let people take body shots off of her and broke out singing 'Your Body is a Wonderland' in front of the crowd."_

"_Yeah I remember even you and Rebekah joined in," she huffed. "You know, I'm surprised you've managed not to spill this story to your brothers before now."_

"_Relax darling. I trust your friend…"he trailed off looking back to Katherine to get her name again._

"_Katherine," she responded with an amused smile before turning back to Caroline. _

"_I trust your friend Katherine here," Kol said innocently. _

"_So what other dirty little secrets have you been keeping from us Caroline Forbes?" Katherine demanded, the amusement evident on her face and in her voice._

"_Can we please not keep bringing this up?" Caroline asked mortified once more._

_Kol and Katherine both laughed but decided to drop it and moved on to other topics about that weekend and other places they had visited._

_Across the room, Klaus finally turned back to Elijah and Marcel after his red headed companion left him. _

"_Should we perhaps get a drink and find a table?" Elijah asked._

"_I should probably find Caroline. I want to go over my speech with her," Klaus responded as he looked back toward the direction of the bar where she had been heading with her "date" the last time he had seen her._

"_You can run your speech with us," Marcel offered as they all started walking toward the open bar._

"_That won't be necessary," Klaus answered as he pulled out his phone with the intention of calling her. _

_He honestly didn't want to just run his speech with her, he also wanted to spend time with her but he wasn't about to admit that out loud to his brother and friend._

"_I believe that is her over there sitting with Kol and another young lady," Elijah said just then and Klaus quickly turned his head in the direction that his brother was looking._

_He frowned at the sight of his brother with Caroline, he knew how flirtatious Kol could be and despite his constant warnings, Kol seemed to enjoy flirting with Caroline._

"_Is one of those beauties your assistant Klaus?" Marcel asked with a smile as he looked toward the table that the two brothers were currently looking at. "Which one is she?"_

_Klaus didn't know why, but Marcel's comment really annoyed him for some reason. It wasn't what he said so much as how he said it. Like he was interested. _

"_Yes, Caroline is my assistant," was all he responded, without bothering to answer his other question._

"_And which one is Caroline? The blonde or the brunette?" Marcel asked again._

_Klaus was extremely annoyed to follow his gaze and see that he was looking at Caroline. With Kol sitting between the two ladies, it was not difficult to determine who Marcel was looking at._

"_Why the interest?" Klaus asked as in a tight voice. "What are you thinking?"_

"_Why won't you just answer the question?" Marcel shot back with a grin. "I'm simply curious, not looking to start any trouble."_

"_Caroline works closely with me, she is not just another body to warm your bed," he said tensely._

"_Don't worry, my intentions are honorable. I wouldn't want to cause any strife between you and your assistant," Marcel said with raised hands._

_Klaus had to refrain from rolling his eyes or doing something worst and glanced back at Caroline instead. The sight of her laughing at something momentarily distracted him. He saw Kol and Katherine laughing too and as he looked at Katherine, he suddenly remembered something and smirked before turning back to Marcel._

"_Well as honorable as your intentions may be, I'm afraid you're not exactly her type," Klaus said with that smirk in place. _

"_You hurt my ego Klaus," Marcel answered with mocked offense. _

"_I'm serious, I'm just trying to save you the embarrassment of being shot down but if you don't believe me then by all means go right ahead," he said innocently._

"_Why exactly are you so sure that I'm not her type?" Marcel asked curiously while Elijah looked between the both of them with a trace of curiosity on his face._

"_Well you see that brunette sitting on the other side of Kol? That just so happens to be her date so I think it's safe to assume that you are indeed not her type," he said with a triumphant grin._

_When he saw Elijah's surprised expression he felt both amused and a little guilty but quickly turned his attention back toward Caroline. He would clear everything up with Elijah later._

"_Now if you'll excuse me gentlemen, I have a speech to go over," he added with a smug smile as he took a final look at Marcel before making his way toward Caroline's table._

_Caroline looked up just as Klaus reached their table and she couldn't help looking for any sign of the red head she had seen him with earlier._

"_Big brother come to join the party at last," Kol said with a grin when he saw Klaus standing next to Caroline._

"_Actually I'm here to steal Caroline away," Klaus answered with a grin as he looked down at her._

"_You're no fun Nik. Let Caroline enjoy herself; we're reminiscing about some fun times aren't we?" Kol asked Caroline._

"_I'm sorry I'm afraid duty calls," she said with an apologetic smile. "We can continue this as soon as I'm done. Kol keep your hands off of my friend while I'm gone," she warned suddenly serious while Kol rolled his eyes._

"_Don't keep her too long Nik I'm actually enjoying myself at one of these blasted things for once," Kol said as he reached for his drink._

"_I'm afraid your entertainment is not high on my list of priorities for the night," Klaus responded sarcastically as he pulled Caroline's chair back for her._

_He was leading her to get another drink when they both saw Elijah and Marcel making their way toward the table now being occupied by Kol and Katherine. Klaus almost groaned out loud as he desperately hoped that his comment about Katherine and Caroline didn't come up. _

"_One Mikaelson exits and another Mikaelson enters," Kol said mockingly when he saw Elijah and Marcel approaching their table. "Here to try and actually enjoy yourself Marcel?"_

"_Always thinking you are the life of the party. I see some things never change," Marcel joked as he shook Kol's hand before turning to introduce himself to Katherine as Elijah did the same._

"_I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting. Elijah Mikaelson," Elijah said with a smile as he shook Katherine's hand and was momentarily taken off guard by her smile. She was certainly more beautiful up close, something he had not thought possible when he first saw her from across the room._

"_Katherine, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said with a smile as she shook his warm hand. _

_She felt a tingling sensation jolt through her but she quickly reminded herself that she had promised Caroline she wouldn't try anything with her boss' brother. Something she was definitely regretting at the moment. _

"_Katherine is a friend of Caroline's," Kol explained with an amused smile as he saw the little exchange between his brother and Katherine._

"_Ah yes of course, Niklaus mentioned something along those lines," Elijah said a little awkwardly as he took a seat across from Katherine. "So how long have you and Caroline known each other?"_

"_Basically our whole lives. We grew up together in a small town before we decided to make the big move to the city together," Katherine explained._

"_Well you are certainly fortunate to have such a loyal companion by your side. I know Niklaus is very happy to work with her," Elijah said with a warm smile that Katherine found herself drawn to._

_She found it odd that Elijah had referred to Caroline as her 'companion' instead of just saying friend, but she shrugged it off, figuring he probably had antiquated speech or something._

"_Nik is more than happy to work with her brother, he obviously fancies her," Kol said with a sly grin._

"_Kol," Elijah chastised before turning to look back at Katherine who seemed amused but not upset._

_Truthfully, Elijah had suspected that his brother was more drawn to Caroline then he liked to let on, but after what he had revealed about Caroline, Elijah had assumed that he had just misinterpreted his brother's interest in Caroline. That or his brother had not known this about Caroline until tonight._

"_I'm only saying the truth. You should hear what the secretaries say about those two," Kol shrugged innocently._

_Marcel turned to look at Elijah with a confused expression to which Elijah simply sighed and shook his head._

"_Kol why don't you tell us about your latest trip to London. When did you get back?" Elijah said quickly, obviously anxious to change the subject._

_He couldn't help but turn back to Katherine and study her reaction to the whole situation. She appeared both curious and amused and when she turned to look at him, he smiled a little before turning his attention back to Kol._

_Meanwhile outside, Klaus and Caroline stood at the edge of the balcony overlooking the city lights. He had to take a moment to admire how beautiful she looked with the moonlight reflecting off her._

"_So let's hear the speech," she said with a smile after a while of standing in silence, feeling a little flustered by the way he was looking at her. _

"_What's the hurry love?" he asked with a smirk._

"_Aren't you going to be giving your speech soon?" she asked with an arched eyebrow._

"_No they normally like to wait for all the executives to be here before getting started with that sort of thing," he answered simply._

"_So then why did you pull me out here if you didn't want to go over your speech yet?" she asked a little confused. "Who are you trying to run away from this time?"_

"_What makes you think I'm trying to run away from anyone?" he asked with an amused smile. "Is it so hard to believe that I simply want to spend some time with you and enjoy your company outside of the work place?"_

"_This is technically a work event and yes it is hard to believe," she answered, meeting his gaze as she did._

_They spent a lot of time together, that much was true, but it was normally in the office or for something work related. She didn't have a typical boss and employee relationship with him, they teased each other and talked just about anything but there was still a boundary that she didn't cross. For the past few weeks however, he had started doing things like driving her home after work, going out to lunch with her almost daily and he had even stayed for dinner at her house one night after Elena had invited him. Spending all this additional time with him was a little unsettling for her as she found herself thinking about him a lot more than she should be._

"_Why?" he asked incredulously. "We've worked closely alongside each other for some time now and I've found I quite enjoy your company."_

"_Good, hopefully that means you won't be firing me anytime soon," she joked, not sure what else to say. She wasn't used to people saying these things to her, outside of her friends of course._

"_I don't think you ever have to worry about that sweetheart," he responded with a dimpled grin. "I am serious though Caroline. You can be infuriating at times but you're also one of the most loyal, dedicated, clever, kind and passionate persons I have come across and I truly enjoy you. You keep me on my feet sweetheart, always challenging me and you know how much I like a challenge."_

_She looked at him a little incredulously but when she saw that he was being serious, she felt her heart skip a beat and quickly looked away. They both stood in silence for a while after this, both listening to the sound of the cars down below in the city, and looking out at the city lights that almost looked like stars within their reach._

"_Share a dance with me," he said with his dimpled smile after a while, as he extended his hand out to her._

_She was caught off guard by his offer for a moment and turned to look at him almost as if to see if he was serious._

"_I'm not sure that's a good idea," she answered a little sheepishly._

"_Why not?" he asked with an arched eyebrow._

"_You're my boss and-"_

"_Nonsense Caroline," he said quickly. "Don't think of this as sharing a dance with your boss, think of it as sharing this dance with a friend or are we not friends also?"_

_He saw her hesitate for a few more moments before she finally sighed and gave him a small smile before accepting the hand he was currently extending out to her. She nervously took his hand and felt a shiver run through her as her hand met his but she ignored it and walked out with him to the dance floor where other couples were dancing. _

_He spun her around once before settling one hand on her lower back and entwining his other hand with hers. She gave him an almost shy smile and he noticed that she looked at almost anything except him._

"_What's wrong Caroline?" he asked curiously._

"_Nothing," she said quickly and then sighed with a small laugh when she saw him arch an eyebrow and looked down at her unconvinced. "I'm just wondering what other people from the office would say if they saw you dancing with your assistant."_

"_Who cares what they say?" he replied with a smirk. "Besides, I'm sure all the men would be envious that they're not the ones getting to hold you in their arms."_

_She looked at him and scoffed but didn't get to say anything else before he spoke again._

"_Stop paying attention to what everyone around you thinks sweetheart. People will always talk, whether you give them something to talk about or not. If you're not doing anything wrong why does it matter what they say or think?" he asked, suddenly serious._

_She looked up at him and couldn't help but give him an appreciative smile and tried to ignore the way her heart was wildly beating in her chest because of the way he was looking at her._

_Both were so caught up in their own world, they did not notice the pair of prying eyes that were looking at them from across the room._

"_Further proof that Nik fancies Caroline, right there," Kol said with a smug smile as he spotted them both dancing closely. "I wonder what it is they're saying to each other. They both seem to be enjoying themselves a little too much for the conversation to be work related."_

_Katherine was watching her friend with a curious and amused grin and she couldn't help but agree with Kol. Caroline was obviously crushing on her boss and he was obviously interested in her too. She couldn't help but turn to look back at Elijah and saw that he was looking at her too. She had caught him stealing glances at her throughout the night but he wasn't exactly the only one doing it. There was something about him that kept drawing her attention back to him. Maybe it was his refined manners, how worldly and cultured he was, his intelligence, she couldn't quite pinpoint it but she definitely knew she was intrigued and found she wanted to talk to him without the others._

"_Elijah would you do a lady the honor of sharing a dance?" she asked with a smile that only widened further when she saw his surprised expression before he quickly recovered._

"_Of course," he answered with a smile as he stood up and extended his hand out to her._

_When they reached the floor, she made eye contact with Caroline who shot her an amused and surprised smirk while Katherine gave her a pointed look in Klaus' direction and Caroline responded by simply rolling her eyes and shaking her head slightly. Klaus turned just then to see who Caroline was looking at and was surprised to see his brother dancing with her friend._

"_I think my brother may have taken a fancy to your friend there," Klaus said with a smirk as he eyed the pair curiously._

"_Why do you say that?" Caroline asked curiously._

"_I don't think I ever see Elijah dance at one of these things," he responded with an amused grin._

"_I don't think Katherine is oblivious to your brother's charm either," she admitted with a small smile. "It seems like all of you Mikaelson men were blessed with charm and good looks," she added absent-mindedly as she kept watching the two dance and exchange words and smiles._

"_All of us Mikaelson men hm?" he asked with an arched eyebrow and dimpled grin._

"_What?" she asked with wide eyes as she realized what she had said out loud moments earlier. "What I meant is that you are all obviously well mannered and eloquently spoken and you know what?" she said flustered when she saw his smile grow wider with every word she spoke. "You are the exception."_

_He laughed at this right before he dipped her, making her suck in her breath as she realized their close proximity._

"_As long as I'm the exception love," he said in a low voice as he stared deep into her eyes for a moment before bringing her back up._

_Caroline didn't know what to say and so they both resumed their dance in silence, with her carefully avoiding his gaze even though she could feel it on her. Thankfully the song ended not too long after that. She caught sight of both Katherine and Elijah eyeing them curiously and decided she needed some space._

"_Sorry, I need to-I'll be back," she said quickly and left before he could say another word to her._

_She walked as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself in the direction of the women's bathroom and only stopped when she was inside. There was a woman at the sink but thankfully she left soon after and Caroline felt free to release the breath she had been holding. _What are you doing with Klaus Caroline? He's your boss! And he's a womanizer! And he's your boss!

_She stood at the sink washing her hands repeatedly and wishing she wasn't wearing so much makeup so that she could splash her face with cold water. She wasn't sure how long she stood there trying to reel in her thoughts when she saw the bathroom door open again and saw Katherine walk in giving her a pointed look before checking the stalls to make sure they were empty._

"_So, safe to say that your relationship with you and your boss is not strictly work-related?" she asked once she was sure no one else was in there._

"_What are you talking about?" Caroline asked in a tight voice, refusing to look at her._

"_Don't play dumb with me Caroline I know you better than most people," Katherine retorted. "Even Elijah saw it and commented on it."_

"_So he's Elijah now?" Caroline asked with a pointed look._

"_Don't change the subject," Katherine said with an eye roll. "What's the deal between you and Klaus?"_

"_It's nothing Katherine honestly," she answered quickly. "He's my boss who can be a little flirtatious just like his brother Kol but it doesn't mean anything."_

"_I wouldn't be too sure about that. Not with the way I've seen him looking at you and the way you two were dancing-"_

"_Katherine don't. Seriously," she warned._

"_I'm just saying," Katherine said innocently. "Elijah told me a pretty interesting story just now, about their friend Marcel asking about you earlier and Klaus insisting you were not his type."_

_Caroline looked at her curiously. Klaus had not mentioned anything to her and even though she didn't know Marcel, she was kind of annoyed that Klaus would take it upon himself to go around telling other men they weren't her type. How the hell would he know and how dare he make the assumption that he did?_

"_From what Elijah told me, I'm pretty sure that Klaus was jealous of Marcel's interest in you," Katherine added with a pointed look and raised her eyebrows when she heard Caroline scoff and start laughing._

"_Klaus Mikaelson doesn't get jealous because he doesn't do serious and he's definitely not interested in me," Caroline scoffed. _

"_Riddle me this then," Katherine said unfazed by Caroline's argument. "Why did he insist that Marcel wasn't your type and then followed up by saying you and I were lovers effectively shutting Marcel down completely?"_

"_He WHAT?" Caroline almost shrieked._

"_Well maybe not in those exact words but poor Elijah was concerned about how I was going to react to the sight of you with Klaus tonight when you guys were dancing because of what your beloved boss told them," Katherine said matter-of-factly. "Then there was also the whole comments that his brother Kol made about you two earlier."_

"_I swear I'm going to kill him," Caroline fumed as she walked angrily past her and exited the bathroom._

"_Yeah I kinda want to kick his ass myself," Katherine said as she followed her out and kept up with her._

_Unfortunately for Caroline, by the time she got back out there, she saw Klaus surrounded by a group of other members from the board, amongst them were Elijah and their other brother Finn, and much to her chagrin, she saw she that the red head was back. Soon after, somebody was making the announcement that the company owners were going to make a speech and Caroline thought about how ironically, Klaus had never actually gone over the speech with her._

_She stood next to Katherine and listened as Finn took the stage and watched while Klaus took out a piece of paper from inside his suit pocket before glancing around the room looking for someone. She couldn't be sure, but just to be safe, she decided to move a little to where she was more blocked from his view and ignored the smirk that was on Katherine's face. _

_After Finn was finished, they were clapping along with everyone else and watching as Klaus took the spot on stage that his brother had vacated. Just then, Caroline spotted Kol sitting at the same table with Marcel and decided to go join them. _

"_And she returns," Kol said with a grin when he saw Caroline coming up to their table with an amused looking Katherine behind her._

_Caroline simply smiled at him before taking a seat in between Kol and Marcel and quickly nodded her head at Marcel with a smile before turning her attention back to Klaus who was still speaking. As annoyed as she was with him, she had to admit that his speech was pretty damn good. When he was finally done speaking, everyone clapped again and Caroline took the opportunity to turn and properly introduce herself to Marcel._

"_Hi, my name is Caroline Forbes," she said with a smile as she extended her hand to him._

"_Marcel," he responded with a smile as she shook her hand. "You're Klaus' right hand I hear?"_

"_Right hand, brains, you name it," Kol said next to her. "Nik is literally lost without her."_

"_I wouldn't say all that but yes, I am Klaus' personal assistant," Caroline said with an embarrassed smile. "I hear you run one of the branches in France?"_

"_Oui mademoiselle," Marcel responded with a smile. "Paris to be exact."_

"_Wow must be nice," Caroline said with a smile. "I keep hoping that there will be some business meeting over there or something work related so that I have an excuse to go."_

"_Have you never been?" he asked._

"_No, I've gotten to go around the states but never anywhere overseas," she answered with a shrug._

"_Tell your boss to quit being a cheapskate and give you a trip as your Christmas bonus or something," Marcel said with a wink._

_Caroline laughed and simply shook her head knowing very well she would never ask Klaus for something like that. She wouldn't put it past him to actually give it to her. Speaking of her boss, she noticed him talking to Elijah and the red head again and she couldn't help the stab of annoyance she felt. _

"_Would you care to have this dance?" she heard Marcel ask just then._

"_Um, sure why not?" she answered with a small smile after a moment and followed him out to the dance floor._

_She saw both Kol and Katherine eyeing her curiously before she saw Kol turn to Katherine and soon enough, they both were walking out to the dance floor as well._

"_You're a good dancer," Marcel commented, bringing her attention back to him. "Most women I dance with just move from side to side and that's not really dancing you know?"_

_Caroline couldn't help but laugh as she nodded her head._

"_So I don't really hear an accent meaning you're not from France?" she asked._

"_No, I was born and raised in New Orleans. I only moved to France a couple of years ago when Mikael insisted he needed someone running the Paris branch," he answered. _

"_Do you miss home a lot?" she asked curiously, wondering what it must be like to be so far away from home._

_It had been hard on her moving from her hometown to the city and thankfully she had had Katherine and Elena to make the move with her and they had made friends relatively quickly. Even then, she would get homesick every now and then but thankfully her father lived within driving distance and her mother would come up every chance she got._

"_I have my moments but I can't deny that Paris has its appeal and I will definitely miss it when I move back in a few weeks," Marcel responded with a smile. "You really should visit sometime. You strike me as the kind of person who would really enjoy it."_

"_It's definitely on my bucket list," she answered and was distracted when she caught sight of Klaus dancing with the red head. _

_She felt that familiar stab of annoyance but then she noticed that his attention was not on his companion but on her, his mouth pressed into a thin line as he looked at her dancing with Marcel. She quickly looked away and turned her attention back to Marcel and continued asking him questions about Paris and his move back to the city, the entire time doing her best to avoid Klaus' stare._

_When the song ended, she saw Elijah approach Kol and Katherine and she couldn't help but smile when she saw Katherine take Elijah's hand as he pulled her deeper into the dance floor. She turned back to see Klaus walking toward her and Marcel and before she could think of what to do, he had already reached them._

"_Mind if I have this next dance with her mate?" Klaus asked with a smile but Caroline could hear the underlying tension in his voice._

_Marcel looked at him curiously before excusing himself, leaving Caroline awkwardly standing in front of him. _

"_Come on love, I won't bite," Klaus teased when he saw her reluctant expression._

_She sighed and reluctantly took his hand and as he pulled her in close to him, she finally listened to the music that was playing and almost groaned. Rod Stewart's Have I told you lately. Seriously?_

_She looked around for Katherine and Elijah and smiled as she saw how wrapped up in their own conversation they were, seemingly oblivious to the others around them._

"_Are you enjoying yourself tonight?" Klaus asked, bringing her attention back to him._

"_Yeah, it's been nice catching up with some people and getting to meet some new ones," she answered simply. _

"_Yes, I see you've met Marcel," he said stiffly. _

"_He's really nice and funny, and smart," she shrugged, feeling her annoyance rise again as she remembered what he had told Marcel about her and Katherine. "Speaking of him, funny story, he seems to be under the impression that he's not my type because my type are women," she said with raised eyebrows as she looked at him expectantly and if she weren't so annoyed with him, she would have found his expression comical. He looked like a deer caught in headlights._

"_Caroline-"_

"_Why would you say that?" she hissed, careful to keep her voice down so that others around him wouldn't hear. "Do you not think I'm good enough for your friends or something?"_

"_Don't be ridiculous Caroline that's not why I made him believe what I did," he answered visibly annoyed._

"_Then why did you?" she demanded. _

_He looked at her for a few moments but didn't say anything._

"_He's still in the middle of moving and only looking to have a good time. He doesn't take relationships seriously what do you think will come out of this?" he finally responded._

"_That's not your decision to make. You're my boss but that doesn't give you the right to dictate who I can or cannot date," she responded angrily. "What I do with my personal life is none of your business."_

_She honestly wasn't interested in Marcel but the thought of Klaus trying to dictate who she could see was beyond infuriating. She was his assistant, not his property or his puppet._

"_Are you honestly trying to tell me that you're interested in seeing Marcel?" he asked in a tight voice._

"_If I was what does it matter as long as it doesn't interfere with my job?" she snapped._

"_You shouldn't be seeing him. He'll be working at our office. It wouldn't be very professional and aren't you the one who's concerned with what other people in the office think?" he retorted._

_She stopped moving and scoffed at him._

"_It isn't very professional for me to be dancing with my boss either so if you'll excuse me," she said angrily before walking away from him._

_She didn't make it very far before she ran into Finn and his wife Sage who stopped her to ask her how she was doing. Even though she wanted nothing more than to escape that place, Caroline didn't want to be rude, especially since she actually like Sage so she accepted the seat that she was being offered. It wasn't long before Klaus joined them but she refused to make eye contact with him and soon enough, they were joined by other members of the board. Seeing her perfect opportunity to escape, Caroline said goodbye to Sage and Finn before excusing herself. _

_As she walked away, she looked around for Katherine but saw no sign of her or Elijah. She walked toward the coat check, still keeping an eye out for her when she heard Klaus call out to her from behind. She decided to ignore him and proceeded walking until he finally caught up to her._

"_Caroline hold on we need to talk," he said as he tugged on her elbow gently._

"_Is this about work or is this another lecture about my unprofessional conduct?" she asked bitingly._

"_Caroline-"_

"_You know what? How dare you lecture me on being professional when I've never been anything but!" she said angrily and when she realized that some people around them were looking, she took in a deep breath before turning and walking away again. _

_She was beyond irritated to hear his footsteps still behind her so when she made it outside she turned on him again._

"_I take my job very seriously and give it 100% each and every single day and I've never gotten a complaint from you complaining otherwise," she said, feeling the anger rise with every word she spoke. "And I'm sorry but you don't get to decide who I can or can't date. I'm not interested in your friend but it wasn't your decision to make and I also believe in keeping my personal and professional lives separate so I don't need you to monitor me in that area."_

_She turned to walk away but quickly turned to face him again._

"_Oh and another thing. Maybe you should practice what you preach Mr. I-like-to-take-them-against-the-desk-during-lunch," she added angrily._

"_What are you-" he started to say when she cut him off._

"_Your red headed friend in there," she snapped. "Everyone in the office knew what you were up to when she would come in for your "meetings"!"_

"_What does Genevieve have to do with anything? I haven't seen her in months," he said visibly confused._

"_That's not the point Klaus! You may be my boss and if you want to fire me for saying this then go ahead. Don't be a hypocrite and lead by example," she said, the anger visible on her features and in her voice._

"_Easy love," he said, the anger starting to rise in him as well. "I would really watch my next words if I were you."_

_She looked at him and scoffed angrily before shaking her head._

"_Of course Mr. Mikaelson. Have a good night," she said in a stiff voice before turning and walking away from him._

_He watched as she hailed a cab and got in without another look at him. As soon as she was in the cab, he heard a voice from behind him._

"_Why didn't you just tell her you were jealous instead of whatever bullshit excuse you gave her that obviously made her so upset?" Kol asked from a short distance that Klaus had not noticed before._

"_What are you talking about?" he asked through gritted teeth._

"_Elijah told me about your little conversation with Marcel earlier," Kol said with a shrug. "By the way, you probably didn't do yourself any favors by lecturing her on being professional when what you want to do with her is anything but," he added with a smug smirk._

"_Don't be ridiculous," he responded with an eye roll. "You don't know what you're talking about."_

"_Oh don't I?" Kol asked, visibly amused. "Don't kid yourself Nik, you're not fooling anyone. You certainly aren't fooling me but then again I always have been more intelligent than you so there's that."_

"_Piss off," Klaus answered angrily before walking past him in the direction of the valet and did his best to ignore the sound of Kol's laughter._

_A while later, Caroline finally made it home and walked in a little warily, hoping that Elena wasn't home. Not that she didn't like Elena, she just wanted to be alone at the moment. She had called Katherine and made up that she wasn't feeling well and had to head out early. Of course, Katherine was still with Elijah when she had called and Caroline couldn't help but wonder what exactly was happening with those two. By the looks of it, they were obviously interested in one another and Caroline couldn't help but wonder what would come of it._

_She released a sigh of relief when she saw the apartment was empty. She changed into her pajamas and plopped herself on the couch, ready to watch Netflix reruns of her favorite show 'Psych' when she heard someone at the door. She was wondering if maybe Elena had forgotten her keys and got up to answer the door only to immediately regret it when she saw Klaus standing there instead._

"_What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice stiff with annoyance._

_She suddenly remembered the thin tank she was wearing and the lack of bra underneath so she quickly wrapped her arms around herself._

"_I wanted to check and see if you had made it home alright," he answered in a low voice._

"_I appreciate it but a simple phone call would have sufficed," she answered stiffly._

"_You were right," he said seriously after a moment, his gaze fixed on hers._

"_Excuse me?" she asked, with an arched eyebrow, not really sure what he was talking about._

"_You were right about everything you said tonight," he explained._

_She was speechless for a moment, completely surprised that he would drive all the way to her house to admit that to her in person._

"_I wasn't entirely honest with you earlier when you asked me about Marcel," he continued, his voice sounding a little tight._

_She looked at him with an arched eyebrow and waited for him to continue._

"_I said those things to Marcel because I didn't want him anywhere near you but it had nothing to do with being professional and I know you're angry but I assure you I wasn't doing it as a means to try and control who you could date," he admitted, his gaze still locked on hers._

"_Then why did you tell him those things?" she asked with furrowed eyebrows._

"_The thought of him with you bothered me," he said after a moment. "The thought of anyone else with you bothers me if I'm being perfectly honest."_

_Caroline felt her heart quicken but she refused to let it show. Why did it bother him? She sucked in a breath when she saw him take a step closer toward her._

"_I know I'm your boss and our relationship should be nothing but professional but the truth is I can't stop thinking about you. I've tried to stop but I can't," he said in a low voice._

_She looked at him and said nothing for a few moments as she tried to get her hammering heart under control and reel in all of her thoughts._

"_Klaus you're my boss and for whatever reason, I actually like working for you and I like where I work. I don't want to jeopardize that over some office fling-"_

"_Some fling?" he repeated incredulously._

"_What else would this be?" she asked skeptically._

"_Do you really think that's all I want from you?" he asked, the hurt audible in his voice. "Is your opinion of me really that low?"_

_She looked at him, again left speechless for a few moments._

"_Klaus I'm not like your other girls who are into casual sex-"_

"_I know," he interrupted, keeping his gaze on hers. "I won't push you to make any decisions right now but I have to ask. Does your opposition stem from your indifference to me or because you don't want to risk your job because you think all I'm after is some tawdry office affair?"_

_She sucked in a breath, her eyes widening as she though of how to answer. Their gazes were still locked on each other's and neither one said anything for a few moments but as he looked into her eyes and saw the color creep up to her cheeks, he didn't need her to say anything. He knew he had his answer. They both seemed to become aware of their close proximity but neither one moved back. _

_He looked down at her lips and quickly lifted his eyes back to hers, only to see that she was also looking at his before snapping her eyes back up to his. He remained looking at her for a few moments before he slowly brought his head down to close the distance between them but stopped when he heard footsteps behind him just then and they quickly stepped back, putting some distance between them again. They both saw Elijah and Katherine standing there looking at them, studying them curiously and trying to decipher what they had just interrupted. _

"_Brother I'm surprised to see you here," Klaus said with a smirk as he watched Elijah standing close to Katherine._

"_Katherine needed a ride home," Elijah explained. "I'm surprised to see you here as well," he added with a pointed look._

"_He was just checking in on me, since I wasn't feeling so well at the gala," Caroline lied quickly, the color rapidly rushing to her face._

_Both Katherine and Elijah looked at the pair of them skeptically, obviously unconvinced but Caroline quickly turned her attention away from them and back to Klaus._

"_Thanks again for checking on me," she said squeakily, fighting to get her face to return to its normal color. _

_Klaus met her gaze again and looked like he wanted to say something but refrained._

"_I'll see you tomorrow Caroline," he said quietly before stepping back and walking toward the elevator. _

"_I'll excuse myself as well," Elijah said just then. "Have a good night ladies," he added turning to smile at Katherine one last time before following after his brother._

_As soon as they were gone, Katherine turned to look at Caroline expectantly only to see that Caroline had the same expression on her face._

"_You have some serious explaining to do," Katherine said quickly. "And I am not taking no for an answer."_

* * *

Caroline released a long and exhausted sigh, directing her attention back to Klaus.

"How are your eyes?" she asked quietly, noticing he no longer had the cloth over his eyes.

"I can see again," he said with a small smile.

"Yeah, sorry about that," she said sheepishly.

"I guess it's the least I deserve," he said seriously after a few moments.

She said nothing and looked ahead, her body completely stiff, her breathing quicker than normal.

"Why did you come tonight Klaus?" she asked in a serious voice, still not looking at him. "And I don't just mean here to my house, but to Matt's party?"

He winced at the bitterness in her voice and didn't answer immediately.

"I needed to see you," he finally answered in a low voice.

She scoffed and she shot him an incredulous glare.

"The last time we saw each other I said some things-" he started to say.

"Klaus don't," she said quickly, with an audible edge to her voice.

"Caroline hear me out-"

"Why? You had _three_ years Klaus and you only now regret what happened?" she asked through angry tears, the hurt audible in her voice.

"No," he answered her firmly his gaze locked on hers. "When I left I was hurt and angry and I thought I was making the right decision. Elijah, Kol, Katherine, they all told me I would regret it and at the time I thought they could not be more wrong but it turns out they were right. By the time I realized it it was too late. You had moved on with your life and I knew I had no right to come back."

She shook her head angrily, the tears threatening to start streaming down her face at any given moment.

"I know I lost you and after the things I said and what I did, I don't expect you to forgive me but I wanted to apologize," he said in a thick voice. "I know this apology is coming three years too late but I thought it was the least you deserved from me."

She turned to look at him as the first tear escaped her but she quickly brought up a hand to wipe it away.

"I'm sorry for everything I put you through Caroline," he said in a low voice that sounded oddly broken.

It was the first time she had ever heard him utter those words in all the time she had known him and for some reason she couldn't explain, she believed him. Maybe it was the pain in his voice or the broken look in his eyes but in that moment she knew he was being sincere and even though she tried to fight back the tears, all the memories of when he left and the aftermath came flooding back to her and she could no longer hold the tears back.

He watched as she stood up and walked toward the corner and stared out the window for a long time and he could hear her soft cries and even though part of him ached to get up and comfort her he knew better. How could he possibly bring her comfort when he was the one that was causing her hurt in the first place? He looked down at his knees and let the all too familiar shame wash over him, the same shame that had been his constant companion for the past few years.

"I appreciate you coming here but I'm afraid it's too late for apologies," she said in a low voice after a long time as she turned to face him. "Everything is different now. I don't trust you anymore Klaus and I just don't see how it can ever be the same again."

She felt fresh tears form when she saw the pained expression that crossed his face but forced herself to turn away from him. Neither one said anything for a long time until she finally heard him stand up and walk toward the door.

"I understand," he said in a low voice raw with emotion. "Sorry for taking up so much of your time."

* * *

Elijah was still in the shower so Katherine decided to pull out an old album he kept on one of their nightstands. She turned to the same page she normally did whenever she looked at the album. On this page was a picture from a weekend retreat. It had been just the four of them, Elijah, Klaus, Caroline, and herself. Nobody could deny how happy they had all been when this picture was taken and Katherine couldn't deny the pang of sadness she felt whenever she looked at it. This picture was taken only a few short weeks before everything had happened. Who could've predicted how drastically everything was going to change?

She heard Elijah come out of the bathroom just then and saw her sitting on the bed holding the album. It only took him a moment to notice the page she had it opened it to.

"Why did he come looking for her? Why can't he just leave her alone and let her live her life?" Katherine asked softly, still looking at the picture with her focus on Klaus and Caroline and the way he had his arm wrapped around her.

"Because he can't let her go," he answered in a quiet voice as he took a seat next to her. "With the kind of connection they had, I don't know that he ever will."

"But he did let her go once," she argued.

"Physically yes, but I know my brother better than he thinks. He got on that plane and put the physical distance between them but I assure you, he's carried her with him all these years, that much was clear to me tonight," he said sadly.

She put the album back in its place as he pulled the covers back and reached out to pull her in to him.

"Do you think she'll ever forgive him?" he asked quietly.

"I wouldn't if I were her but honestly, I don't know. Caroline's never really been predictable and she is sometimes annoyingly compassionate so who knows," she answered as she absent-mindedly stroked a pattern on his chest. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

"I'm sure he'll only be here until the wedding. They just need to tolerate each other until then," he said.

He heard her sigh and he couldn't help but sigh himself. He had not anticipated his brother's sudden return and he couldn't help but wonder what exactly his intentions were for returning so early before the wedding. He would be willing to bet his own liver that a big reason for his return revolved around Caroline but he couldn't be sure exactly what he was hoping to accomplish and why he chose to return now particularly. As he lied there, he couldn't help but remember the night that Klaus left and how he had practically begged him to reconsider.

"_Niklaus don't do this. You can't just leave like this," he said angrily._

"_Not only can I, I want to," Klaus snarled._

"_What do you hope to accomplish by leaving this way?" he argued._

_Klaus looked away and said nothing._

"_You will regret this Niklaus, you mark my words. You will wake up one day feeling empty and ashamed and you will regret running away like this and leaving your family and her behind," he pressed._

"_Sir, the car is pulled out front and ready for you," one of the maids announced through the door just then._

"_Think about this before you do anything," he argued as he walked in front of him._

"_It's already been done Elijah. There is nothing left to think about," Klaus answered in an empty voice before he motioned for Elijah to move out of his way. _

_Elijah felt the tears burn in his eyes as he saw his younger brother wheel away but as he saw the door shut behind him, he knew this wasn't his younger brother. This was nothing but a shadow that resulted from the aftermath of the chaos that had struck them._

Elijah closed his eyes and tried to shake the memory from his head. Earlier that night he had caught the way his brother was looking at Caroline he knew he had been right. _You should've never left Niklaus, you should've never let her go._

* * *

**Thanks for reading everyone! This chapter was longer than normal but don't worry, future chapters will not be this long. Next chapter will also involve the other characters & the story will move forward. This chapter was mostly to establish a little more of their history so thanks for bearing with me. I'll try to have the next chapter up ASAP. S/N: If any of you are on tumblr, please feel free to look me up and ask me any questions there as well or simply say hello. My username is the same as on here: missingstars89. Anyway, please leave me your thoughts or any questions I love to hear from you guys! :)**


	4. Chapter 4-Remember When

**Hello everyone! I was blown away by the feedback & responses to the last chapter thank you so much! I really enjoyed reading all of your reviews so massive thank you! Thank you so much also to everyone who followed & faved I truly appreciate it! It seems the recurring question is what exactly happened between Klaus & Caroline and I promise that will most definitely be addressed. I will be splitting up the history surrounding their fall-out and his departure into smaller series of flashbacks and tying it in with the present time story. Somebody asked if there was a reason Klaus waited this long to come back and the answer is yes there is & that reason will also be disclosed. Anyway, enough of a note, please forgive any errors I didn't catch!**

* * *

_She's talking to angels,_

_Counting the stars_

_Making a wish on a passing car_

_She's dancing with strangers_

_Falling apart_

_Waiting for Superman to pick her up_

_In his arms, yeah, in his arms_

Caroline was singing loudly along with the song currently playing on her iPod. She was in the kitchen finishing scrubbing the tile and grabbed the many trash bags placed by the back door after she was done. She walked out back to throw the trash bags that she had collected from around the house during her little cleaning frenzy that she had undertaken since the moment she woke up a couple of hours earlier.

_She says, "Yeah he's still coming, just a little bit late._

_He got stuck at the Five and Dime saving the day."_

_She says, "If life was a movie, then it wouldn't end like this._

_Left without a kiss."_

She continued singing and started shaking her head as she let herself get lost in the words of the song and all the bittersweet memories it brought up.

"_You know some people consider it rude to stare," Klaus said sleepily. "Others consider it creepy."_

_She snapped up her gaze and saw his dimpled grin that always had the ability to make her knees go weak and she laughed a little as she playfully rolled her eyes._

"_Hey! In my defense I had nothing to do since you have your arms trapping me in like some kind of steel cage," she argued with a smile as she allowed him to pull her in closer._

"_No need for a defense love I never said I was one of those people," he said as he lightly ran his fingers down her arm. "I don't mind you staring so long as you're staring at me," he added with a cheeky grin._

"_Is that so?" she asked with an arched eyebrow and a smirk._

_He smiled before leaning in to kiss her. She smiled against his lips as she immediately responded and brought up an arm to wrap it around his neck and pull him in closer. It had been a few months since they had been together but every kiss still had the ability to leave her yearning for more and she wondered if she would ever get used to do this new feeling. _

_It wasn't long before he readjusted their positions so that he laid on top of her, letting his hands explore up her torso while his lips pressed hot and open mouthed kisses down her neck and along her throat, paying particular attention to a sensitive spot he had discovered during one of their times together. She tried to hold on to coherent thoughts and remember why she had been up so early to begin with but as she felt him sucking on her sensitive skin and doing things with his tongue that were positively sinful, it was hard for her to concentrate on anything but that moment and the feel of him against her._

_She suddenly felt like she had too much clothes on and he seemed to be thinking the same thing because soon after, he pulled back enough to pull her sleeping shirt up and helped her pull it over her head and discarded it carelessly. She now lied in nothing but her panties and she couldn't help but blush when she saw the way his eyes raked over her body with a look of sheer adoration and lust. _

"_You're beautiful," he said in a low and husky voice when he finally met her gaze._

_She gave him an almost shy smile before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him back down to her, kissing him ardently, fully determined to ravish his mouth and give him a little taste of his own medicine. She let her hands explore down his bare back and moaned into his mouth when she felt him run a hand up along her ribs and stop at her breast._

_The shrill sound of her cellphone pulled her out of her lusty haze and instantly reminded her why she had been up so early. He pulled back with an annoyed groan and reached over to shut it off._

"_That's probably Rose," she said quickly as she tried taking the phone from him._

"_Who?" he asked with an arched eyebrow._

"_Rose, Finn's assistant," she said a little incredulously. "Honestly she's been working for him longer than I've been working for you."_

"_I don't really pay attention to anyone else's assistants love," he responded with a shrug. "I prefer to give my undivided attention to my own," he said cheekily as he dipped his head back down to her neck._

"_We have to go downtown to meet with Nikels remember?" she reminded as she desperately tried to not get caught up in what he was doing with his mouth and hands again._

"_Hmm," was all he said as he left a trail of kisses leading down to her breast._

"_This is your company's biggest account you can't be late!" she exclaimed with a laugh as she heard him groan before pulling back. _

"_I can be fast if the situation calls for it," he said with a wolfish smile. _

"_Seriously?" she responded with a laugh. "Come on, we're already running late and still have to get ready."_

"_We could always save some time and shower together," he suggested with a sly grin._

"_You're insatiable," she said as she shook her head with a smile. _

_She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss but pulled back before they got carried away again and laughed when she saw the slight pout on his face._

"_I'll make it up to you later," she said with a wink as she sat up once he rolled off of her._

"_I'm holding you to that love," he said with a grin as he leaned in to give her another kiss but surprised her when he pulled back suddenly._

_She saw him turn to the nightstand next to him and pull something out of one of the drawers and turned back to her with a dimpled smile as he handed her the small box._

"_What is this?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice._

"_Open it," he answered simply. _

_She looked at him a little reluctantly before she opened it and gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a beautiful white gold locket with a beautiful flower encrusted with small diamonds. _

"_Klaus what is this?" she asked a little breathlessly. "I can't accept this Klaus."_

"_Open it love," he encouraged with a smile._

_When she just looked at him, he rolled his eyes with a smile and opened the locket for her to reveal her favorite picture that she had taken with her dad when she was a little girl. On the other side was a picture of her mother. She looked up at him with the tears in her eyes, at a loss for words._

"_I know you've been worried and upset since you found out the news about your father and when you shared this picture with me and the story behind it, I wanted you to be able to carry it with you in some way to look at whenever you're feeling overwhelmed with everything going on now," he explained and she could tell he was trying to be act as nonchalant about the whole thing as possible. Klaus Mikaelson was not an emotional person after all._

_She gave him a blinding smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in, kissing him passionately for a few moments before pulling back and looking up at him a little breathlessly._

"_Thank you," she whispered against his lips and felt a tear run down her face._

"_What's wrong love?" he asked a little bewilderedly._

_She shook her head and tried to wipe the tears but he cupped her face and looked at her seriously._

"_I've just never had anybody do something like this for me before," she whispered. "I've never had anybody care so much."_

_He looked at her with an almost sad expression._

"_You deserve the world Caroline," he said in a low voice as he gently caressed her face._

_She looked at him with a sad smile when she saw the honesty in his eyes and heard it in his voice._

"_I have you," she whispered a little timidly as she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his. "It's sometimes surreal that I'm here with you...that you picked me from all the girls you could have."_

"_You're the only one I care about__," he said. "I know you took a chance with me but I want you to know I'll never hurt you," he promised._

_She opened her eyes slowly and saw the honesty there and smiled as she pressed her lips lightly against his._

She was so caught up in her own little world that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw somebody walking toward her.

"Oh SHIT!" Caroline exclaimed as she clutched at her heart when she saw the person from her peripheral vision.

She then laughed a little awkwardly when she saw who it was and quickly pulled her earphones out.

"Lexi I'm sorry you scared the crap out of me," she explained with an embarrassed laugh.

"Sorry Daughtry I was knocking at your door for a good five minutes and then I heard you back here," Lexi Branson explained with an amused smile.

"I'm so sorry I didn't even hear you knock," she quickly started to apologize.

"No worries, I see your attention was directed at something more important," Lexi teased.

Caroline rolled her eyes with a small laugh and led her into the house. Lexi let out a small whistle as soon as she stepped into the kitchen and got the whiff of cleaning supplies and saw the stacked chairs and spotless countertops. She glanced down at her watch and then turned to look at Caroline with an arched eyebrow.

"Just doing a little stress cleaning. I'm stressed," Caroline answered with an awkward smile as she moved to start putting all the cleaning supplies away.

"Stress cleaning huh?" Lexi asked curiously. "What's up?"

Caroline almost let out a bitter laugh as she tried to think of a way to answer that question but decided to go with the easy answer.

"Work stuff, boy issues, the usual," she said with a shrug.

"Ahh the old relationship woes," Lexi said with an understanding nod. "Want to talk about it?"

"I can't, Katherine wants us to go over and work on some wedding stuff before we have to go to those fabulous dance lessons," Caroline said, emphasizing the last words with sarcasm.

"She's making all of you guys take dance lessons?" Lexi asked with a laugh.

"Her exact words were 'If I have to you guys have to,'" Caroline said with a slight eye roll.

"Is he still asleep?" Lexi asked as she took the pill bottles from her. "Did he sleep through the night okay?"

"Yeah, these new meds are really wiping him out for most the day and the whole night. Is that normal?" Caroline asked a little apprehensively.

"Yeah, these meds are a much stronger dose than the last ones and his body is still recovering from his last heart attack," Lexi explained gently. "Don't worry, he's fine and once the doctor clears him, maybe we can look into switching his medication to something that doesn't exhaust him so much."

Caroline nodded her head with a sad smile, thankful for Lexi's attempts to reassure her. Lexi was her dad's nurse and had been working with him for the past six months so she knew his case pretty well, something that really put Caroline more at ease. She was Stefan's roommate and one of his best friend's so when he recommended that Caroline request her to be her father's nurse, Caroline had more than willingly agreed since she trusted Stefan's judgment and the more she got to know Lexi and saw with how much care she looked after her father, the more she knew she had been right in her decision.

"He's doing a lot better Care, let's take all the small victories we can," Lexi told her with a warm smile before walking out to check on Bill.

Caroline released a small but sad sigh before going upstairs to begin getting ready. She checked her phone and saw she still had no messages or calls from Matt and she couldn't deny that this was _really_ starting to annoy her but she didn't have time or energy to dwell on this.

Caroline stopped to check on her dad before she started getting ready.. After she finished getting ready, she poked her head in her dad's room. Lexi was sitting on the chair next to his bed reading a book but saw that her dad was still sleeping. She walked very quietly across the room and leaned to give him a kiss on the forehead and looking at him sadly as she saw how frail he looked. She couldn't help but notice how everyday he looked even more frail. She fought back the tears as she caressed his cheek gently before giving him another kiss goodbye and turning to say bye to Lexi.

"I'll call you if I need you at all," Lexi reassured her.

With that promise, Caroline headed out to meet with Katherine and Elena, hoping that this trip would be a distraction but couldn't help but feel that she was hoping in vain.

* * *

Klaus was awoken by the incessant buzzing sound of his phone. He reached around blindly until he managed to silence it before burying his head further under the pillows. Unfortunately life had other plans as he heard his phone start up again only seconds later and groaning in irritation, Klaus grudgingly sat up and saw who was calling. _Elijah._ He rolled his eyes and decided to ignore the call. Not even a minute later, he heard a loud knock at the door.

_Who the hell could it be? He was staying at a hotel for crying out loud._ The mystery was solved only moments later when he heard Elijah's voice calling his name through the door. Klaus gritted his teeth in irritation as he glared at the door. _How in the world had Elijah found out what hotel he was staying at? _

He sat there for a moment longer, seriously considering not opening the door when that option was eliminated upon hearing a click and then seeing the door open.

"Ah Niklaus good morning. I'm glad to see I have not missed you the way you would have had me believe," Elijah said nonchalantly as he closed the door behind him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Klaus asked angrily. "How did you know I was staying at this hotel and how the hell did you get access to my suite?"

Elijah looked at him calmly but didn't answer.

"Well?" Klaus hissed.

"Which question would you like me to answer first?" Elijah asked with that same infuriating calmness.

"And here I thought that Kol was supposed to be the infuriating one," he growled.

"We are all infuriating in our own way Niklaus, you know that better than anyone," Elijah responded with a trace of amusement in his voice. "But to answer your questions, I got your assistant's contact information and found you that way. I am here because you will be accompanying me for the day."

"I will be doing no such thing," he snapped as he mentally tried to think of any reason to not fire Davina for sharing all this information with his brother.

"Very well, we can stay here and discuss the mysterious reasons behind your sudden return if you prefer," Elijah said calmly as he took a seat much to Klaus' chagrin.

"My affairs are just that Elijah, _mine_ and do not concern you," he retorted angrily.

"But that is where you are mistaken because I am sure your return does not just simply revolve around you," Elijah countered. "Why have you returned? I have spoken to Rebekah, Kol and Finn and even they were not aware about your plans to return."

Klaus clenched his teeth in irritation.

"I already told you Elijah, my affairs are none of your concern," he hissed.

"Why are you being so evasive in your responses Niklaus?" Elijah asked suspiciously. "Why are you always pushing us away?"

Klaus sucked in an angry breath but said nothing.

"You live this lonely and hollow life Niklaus but you do it yourself," Elijah said sadly.

Klaus turned to look at him angrily for a few moments without saying anything.

"We are your family Niklaus why don't you trust us?" Elijah pressed.

"Leave it alone Elijah," he warned in a silent but almost menacing voice. "Just trust me when I say I am not here to cause any more trouble than what I've already caused in the past."

With that, he pushed past him and walked toward the bathroom, leaving a bewildered and very suspicious Elijah behind him.

* * *

Caroline pulled into the large driveway of Katherine's and Elijah's house and braced herself for the questions that were sure to follow as soon as she saw them.

"Ah she lives," a cranky Katherine greeted her when she saw her walk out to the patio where she was sitting with Elena.

"Good morning to you too," Caroline said somewhat sarcastically as she set her stuff down and took a seat on one of the lounge chairs.

"How are you feeling?" Elena asked.

"Great, just needed a little rest. I'm good as new," Caroline responded with the best smile she could muster.

Elena looked at her unconvinced while Katherine was eyeing her with an almost annoyed look.

"Why didn't you say anything about Klaus being back?" Katherine asked, annoyance evident in every syllable.

"Katherine seriously?" Caroline scolded, quickly turning to look back at Elena who seemed unfazed by the news. "You told her?" she grumbled.

"Why didn't you say anything to us last night?" Elena asked.

Caroline sighed as she mentally scolded herself for coming. She should've known this would happen.

"Spill," Katherine said with an arched eyebrow and her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Can we seriously not do this right now?" Caroline sighed with a hint of annoyance. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything to any of you guys last night but honestly I wasn't exactly sure what the hell was going on half the time. Everything happened so suddenly, one minute Elijah is offering me a job, next minute I'm seeing that jerk I tried so hard not to think about, and the next minute I'm being confronted by Tyler Lockwood," she rambled angrily.

"Oh yes, all of this was at my boyfriend's birthday party who was a grade A douche bag by the way," she added. "So I'm sorry, but I wasn't exactly thinking clearly last night and I just wanted to get as far away as soon as possible."

"I thought I saw Tyler at some point but I wasn't sure it was him and then I lost sight of him," Elena said almost apologetically. "I'm sorry Care I should've looked for you and warned you."

"No don't worry about it Elena, I'm pretty sure I saw him before you did. He was there with Vicki who of course couldn't pass up the opportunity to come introduce him to her 'baby bro,'" Caroline said with the irritation obvious in her voice.

"What are the chances that Vicki Donovan would be dating Tyler Lockwood? I thought he moved back with his mother after everything that went down?" Katherine asked a little suspiciously.

"I don't know," Caroline said sounding exhausted. "I don't exactly keep tabs on what the Lockwood's are doing these days."

With that, she leaned back on the chair and as her mind drifted back to everything that happened last night, right down to Klaus' late night visit. She definitely wasn't going to tell them about that just yet.

The list of questions continued as they both bombarded her with questions about why he was back, what did he want, what did he say to her, and numerous other questions. She tried to answer all of their questions as honestly as possible but she was honestly exhausted and didn't want to deal with anymore conversations about him because talking about Klaus meant thinking about Klaus and she had already spent far too many days and nights thinking about him. She also couldn't deny that all of this brought up all of these unresolved issues and feelings that she didn't even know how to begin sorting through.

"Guys, can we please just talk about anything else. _Anything_," Caroline pleaded finally.

"I'm sorry Care, we're just worried I mean, doesn't the whole thing seem weird to you?" Elena said seriously.

"Which part?" Caroline asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Don't you think it's weird that he would come look for you after how things ended between you guys?" Elena asked her.

"This whole situation doesn't make any sense but honestly, I don't have any answers and sitting here talking about it is just making me feel crazy…-er," she said exasperatedly.

"We're just worried about you Care and want you to be careful. I don't trust that guy with a stick much less around you," Elena answered tensely.

"Don't worry about me," Caroline said in a low voice. "I'll be fine, I've been through a lot worst and I'm not that girly little Caroline he left behind anymore."

Elena looked at her unconvinced while Katherine looked like she was contemplating something. Caroline took that opportunity to go mess with the iPod that was plugged in to some speakers and was playing some music in the background. Her eyes widened just then as they heard the song that came on next and the three of them looked at each other with knowing smiles as they took their places and started dancing and singing along.

"Oooh baby baby," they sang in unison and danced along to the song and moves they knew by heart. "Get up on this!"

Caroline looked over at her friends and couldn't help but smile and be thankful for fun and random moments like this.

"Ah push it-push it good," they all sang together. "Push it real good!"

By the end of that song, they were all in significantly better moods and laughing.

"We really do need to go out ASAP and have a girl's night," Elena said giving them both pointed looks.

"A night out with my girls, no boys, no drama?" Caroline asked. "Count me in!"

"Could I say no to that?" Katherine asked with a smirk. "Just tell Bonnie I better see her professional dancing ass there too."

Caroline shook her head and laughed. _Maybe this trip wasn't such a bad idea after all._

* * *

A few hours later, Caroline walked in to the dance studio where they would be receiving the ballroom dance lessons that Katherine had signed them all up for.

"You know for someone who keeps complaining about these dance lessons you are in a hurry to get here so early," Caroline said to Katherine.

She stopped as soon as she entered and saw that the room was decorated with at least ten flower arrangements all with her favorite flower. She turned to look at her friends only to see knowing smiles on their faces. Before she could say anything else, she heard footsteps and turned to see Matt standing in the middle of the room holding a small sign that read _I'm sorry._

She opened her mouth in surprise, completely taken aback and not sure what to say. He walked closer to her with a tentative look on his face and stopped when he was right in front of her.

"I'm sorry Caroline. I acted like a real jerk after all the work you put into making sure that last night was perfect," he said in a low voice as he looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry I ruined it."

She looked at him still feeling flabbergasted by the entire situation. She hated that with this grand gesture on Matt's part, her thoughts were taken back to a certain memory of when Klaus had done something similar only it wasn't to apologize. She quickly shook her head, refusing to think about him or their past.

"I'm sorry babe, really I am. I shouldn't have acted that way with you last night," he said again as he inched his way closer to her until he had wrapped his arms around her waist.

Caroline turned to look at Katherine and Elena who were looking at the whole thing unfold before them like they were at the movies.

"Maybe we should take about this outside," she said quitely, realizing that her friends would be listening in on the entire conversation if they could.

He nodded his head and followed her outside but not before giving Elena and Katherine appreciative smiles for helping him plan this. Once outside, Caroline stood with Matt and listened while he explained how he had called Elena and Katherine to set the whole thing up to surprise her and how he didn't want to catch his flight before getting to see here and apologize in person.

"Thank you Matt I appreciate this I really do," she said with an almost sad smile after he finished talking.

"But?" he asked hesitantly.

She looked at him and released a sigh before answering.

"What do you actually regret about last night?" she said.

"Everything Care. I'm sorry for ignoring you most of the night and for getting into that argument," he answered, confusion still evident in his voice.

"But do you understand why we got into that argument in the first place?" she pressed. "Do you understand why I was so upset?"

He looked at her for a moment before opening his mouth to speak only to quickly close it again.

She looked at him for a moment as well before sadly shaking her head.

"What do you want me to say Care?" he asked warily. "Please tell me what you want from me and I'll do it."

She shook her head incredulously.

"It's not about getting an apology from you Matt it's about you understanding where I'm coming from," she said. "I was upset because this jerk was not respecting me and you stood there and defended him."

"Care-" he started to argue but she quickly cut him off.

"Please let me finish," she said. "You will never understand what it's like to be a woman in this field with all of these sharks from Wall Street. Not everyone takes you seriously and there are some assholes like the one last night who see me and don't see a professional that deserves respect. They see a body that would make for a great bed warmer and I refuse to be treated like that. I don't care what the cause is or what is at stake. I've worked my ass off to get to where I am today and I did that through honest and hard work."

Matt stood there at a loss of words as he mulled over her words.

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me I can do that myself I just need to know that you have my back when it comes to things like this," she said honestly.

"I guess I didn't think about it that way," he said in a low voice. "Everything has been so hectic for the past few months and tensions have been running high," he continued. "I think we just need a weekend away from everything and just enjoy some time together alone. Just me and you what do you say?"

She looked at him but didn't say anything as she tried to think of what she could sa.

"Come on Care, I'm really trying here," he said pleadingly.

"I don't know Matt everything is still really hectic at work and plus I have my dad-" she was saying before he cut off her by pressing his lips to hers suddenly.

She couldn't understand why but as he kissed her she almost felt the urge to cry. He looked at her with a small smile before something behind her caught his attention.

"Mr. Mikaelson what a pleasure to run into you here," Matt said quickly as he stepped back and walked over to shake his hand.

Caroline quickly turned around and froze when she saw Elijah standing a few feet away from them with Klaus standing right next to him staring at her. His expression was unreadable but she could see a mixture of anger and daresay she hurt in his eyes? She forced herself to look away from him and turned her attention to Elijah instead.

"Mr. Donovan please allow me to introduce you to my brother, Niklaus Mikaelson," Elijah said in a calm voice but anyone who knew him well enough could hear the underlying tension in it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Matt said quickly as he extended his hand out to Klaus who grudgingly shook it without saying a word to him.

Caroline greeted Elijah and shook his hand before awkwardly shaking Klaus' hand but refusing to look at him even though she could feel his gaze burning into her.

"It was a pleasure seeing you again Mr. Donovan. Caroline we'll see you inside," Elijah said tensely as he and Klaus walked inside the studio.

Caroline didn't realize she had been holding her breath until she saw them enter the studio.

"I should probably get going too. Alaric will kill me if I miss this flight," Matt said as he turned his attention back to her. "Think about what I said about taking a whole weekend away for just the two of us."

She nodded her head and gave him a small smile and felt herself tense when he leaned in to give her another quick kiss.

"I'll call you when I land," he said with a small smile.

Inside, both Elena and Katherine froze when they saw Elijah walk in with Klaus. Elijah and Klaus both stopped at the same time as they took in the scene before them. Katherine and Elena, along with the dance instructor who was a good friend of Bonnie's, had moved all the flower arrangements to the side but they were still very attention calling.

"I guess I'll call Damon and tell him we don't need him to fill in after all," Elena said awkwardly before walking to the other side of the room but not before giving Klaus a dirty look.

"Um thanks for the heads up that your brother was coming," Katherine said in a low voice as she pulled Elijah off to the side.

"He's part of the wedding party and you wanted everyone in the party to participate in the lessons correct?" Elijah asked, the confusion evident in his voice.

"Yeah but I assumed he wouldn't do them until the rest of your family arrived," she responded with furrowed eyebrows.

"Katherine I understand your discomfort but he is a part of this wedding party and will be present at events having to do with the wedding from here on out," he said.

"I know," she sighed. "And I know he's your brother and you hardly get to see him and I'm not trying to come between that. It just would have been nice to know so that I could have given Caroline a head's up so she could mentally prepare or whatever," she explained.

Just then, they heard the door open and saw Jeremy and Caroline walk in. The dance instructor turned to Katherine.

"Are you still expecting more people?" she asked.

"Not today, the rest of our wedding party will be arriving in a few weeks," Katherine said.

"Actually I spoke to Kol earlier. He will be arriving today," Elijah said to her but she didn't get to say anything before the instructor spoke again.

"Well we can get started then."

"Care you'll be partnered with Jeremy for today and Elena you'll be partnered with Klaus," Katherine told them as they all gathered in the center of the room.

The instructor had them partner off and while Jeremy and Caroline seemed fine, Elena and Klaus both looked like they would rather be anywhere else in the world at that moment. The instructor and her assistant started demonstrating the steps and when she was finished, turned on the music and asked them to take their partners and follow along with her. Klaus stiffly took Elena's hand and had his hand hovering over her waist while she barely touched his shoulder and stood at an awkward distance from him.

"Okay perhaps we can try getting a little closer to each other. Don't worry I don't think either of you bite," the instructor tried teasing.

"No, some of us like to stab each other in the back instead," Elena said sarcastically.

"And some of us like to ride around on our high horses passing judgment on the world," Klaus responded sardonically.

The instructor cleared her throat awkwardly to bring their attention back to her.

"Okay let's try this again," she said a little tensely.

She proceeded to give them more instructions and tried to ignore the fact that most of them were busy glaring at each other. Klaus and Elena were busy glaring at each other while Katherine and Elijah were busy glaring at each of them respectively. In fact, the only ones who were awkwardly paying attention to her instructions were Jeremy and Caroline.

When they were instructed to practice again, Jeremy turned to look at Caroline with a small frown.

"What the hell is going on?" he whispered as he glanced over at the other two tense couples.

Caroline shook her head warily and sighed in frustration. At this rate, they would never get through the wedding without somebody tearing into someone's throat. Soon after that, the instructor stopped them all again.

"How about we switch up some of you for today?" she said a little exasperatedly as she eyed Elena and Klaus in particular. "Since not all of your wedding party is here anyway, we can switch up a little so that we can at least get the basic steps down."

Caroline felt her mouth grow dry, already sensing she would be partnered up with Klaus and sure enough, the instructor asked her and Elena to trade partners.

"No that's okay they can suck it up and be adults about this can't they?" Katherine said as she glared at the two of them.

"Yes, it won't be a problem sorry," Elena said grudgingly while Klaus stood there with a stony expression refusing to look at Elena.

The instructor looked at them unconvinced and for very good reason. Both of them looked like they would sooner hug a cactus than dance with each other.

"It's fine, we can trade it's not a problem," Caroline said as she looked at both of them.

She saw Elena open her mouth to say something so she quickly interrupted.

"It's fine I know how much you enjoyed forcing Jeremy to dance with you anyway," Caroline tried to tease as she walked over to take Elena's spot.

Elena looked at her unconvinced but soon walked over to stand by Jeremy. The instructor looked at the group warily before resuming the music.

Caroline tried to remain unaffected as Klaus took her hand in his and pulled her in much closer than he had pulled in Elena, much to the instructor's delight, and she tried to keep her focus straight ahead instead of looking at him.

"I see you're still quite the dancer," he said after a few moments.

Before she could stop herself, she turned to look at him and was surprised by what she saw in his eyes. There was a hint of unmistakable sadness in them. After realizing she had been staring a little too long, she forced herself to look away and cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Would it kill you to try and get along with Elena just for the sake of the wedding?" she asked tensely in a low voice so that the others wouldn't hear.

"I'm not the one who started it love," he responded tensely.

"I asked you not to call me that," she responded in a stiff voice. "And I hope you realize that you just sounded like a 5 year-old child."

He looked at her with an arched eyebrow, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"My apologies but I refuse to put up with your friend's insufferable self-righteous attitude," he said almost angrily. "I'm sure she was ecstatic when I screwed up so that she could gloat and tell you how right she was about me."

Caroline released an exasperated sigh and didn't say anything for a few moments.

"I am not naïve to think that any of your friends are fond of me but we both know that Elena was judging me long before we ended things and I put up with it as much as I could for your sake but I have no obligation to do so now," he said through gritted teeth.

Before she could say anything, the instructor interrupted them to point out what they were doing wrong before having them resume the dance.

"Elena means well but sometimes she can be a little difficult," Caroline said tensely. "But in her defense, I wouldn't like you very much if I were in her shoes either."

He chuckled a little at this as he spun her around.

"Because you like me so much yourself right?" he asked.

"Touché," she replied.

"Well at least you can tolerate me enough to be my dance partner," he commented with a grin.

"All for the sake of the greater good but I can't do it every time. You guys are going to have to get over it for the wedding I hope you realize that," she said.

"I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we get there," he responded with a shrug.

"At this rate, I don't think you guys will be crossing that bridge so much as trying to shove each other off that bridge," she said with an arched eyebrow.

"Now there's an idea," he said with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes with and did her best to fight back a smile.

"You know it's probably because you make comments like these that she didn't like you before," she pointed out.

"Now we both know that's not true. She didn't approve of me because she didn't think I was good enough for you," he said with an edge to his voice.

"That's not true," she tried to argue but it came out sounding weak.

"I see you're still in denial about that whole issue," he said darkly. "I'm surprised she actually approves of Elijah or maybe she doesn't and just hides it better than she did with me. Tell me, is there anyone she's actually approved of?"

"Yes there is actually," she answered tensely but didn't elaborate any further not wanting to share with him just how much Elena loved Matt.

He looked at her for a moment and noticed her tense expression.

"Let me guess? She's doting on your current boyfriend?" he asked sardonically.

"She's not _doting_ on Matt," she corrected in a stiff voice.

"But she does approve of him?" he pressed and she could hear the edge in his voice.

She kept looking straight ahead and didn't answer him for a few moments.

"It doesn't really matter," she finally said in a distant voice. "You know I never really listened to what she had to say. It was my relationship, not hers."

They both danced in silence for a few moments after this.

"I take it you fixed things with Mr. Donovan?" he asked stiffly.

"That's none of your business actually," she answered in a low voice, refusing to look at him.

"Are you happy with him?" he asked before he could stop himself.

She looked at him and scoffed, the anger evident in her eyes.

"Well between us girls, my relationship is none of your damn business," she retorted. "And why should you care? Like you said, we ended things long ago."

He stayed quiet even though he wanted to tell her what a mistake she was doing being with Donovan, to tell her how it just about drove him insane when he saw her with him earlier and the thought of her in his arms made him feel sick to his stomach.

He released a frustrated sigh as he tried to reel in his thoughts and focus on something else but this was proving to be a particularly difficult task when she was currently in his arms. He repeated to himself that he didn't care, that he couldn't care.

"Besides, it's not like you ever really cared anyway," she added in a tight voice.

He turned to look down at her with an almost angry expression but was interrupted by the dance instructor just then.

"Excellent! That was excellent. Well done everyone," she exclaimed happily. "I think we're ready to start with the steps for the next dance."

The rest of the lesson was spent in silence like this, as they both literally danced around this obvious tension between them, neither one knowing how to address it. By the time the lesson finally ended, Caroline felt like she could kiss the instructor out of sheer gratitude that it was over.

She stepped away from Klaus almost immediately and walked to retrieve her things. She pulled out her phone to see she had a few missed calls from work and one from Lexi, as well as a message from her saying that her dad was awake and was asking about her. She looked back to see Katherine arguing with Elena and saw Klaus looking at her and knew he would want to talk so she took off before he had the chance to. She wasn't really sure where she was going since she had rode along with Katherine and Elena but she didn't make it very far before she heard him calling out to her.

"What do you want Klaus?" she asked almost angrily when she realized he wasn't going to give up.

He stopped a couple of feet in front of her.

"What do you want from me?" she repeated, her voice quivering a little.

"I want the chance to make things right," he said seriously.

"You want to make things right?" she repeated with an edge to her voice.

"Which part Klaus? The part where you started pushing me away or the part where you humiliated me and then left? You left and I didn't hear anything from you for _three_ years! Do you have any idea what it was like for me after you left?" she said through angry tears. "I was ashamed to show my face at work knowing what everyone would say about me behind my back and it even got to the point where it was no longer behind my back. I thought that we were over the day you left but looking back on it, I think we were over before that we both just didn't want to admit it."

She took in a deep breath to try and control her breathing and wiped away some of tears.

"You made your choice so please, by all means just go about living the life you wanted and let me go."

She didn't wait for him to say anything before she turned and walked away and was thankful when he didn't follow this time.

* * *

Later that night, Katherine pulled up to the restaurant that Elijah had made reservations at. After the dance lessons, she had to go check out some things with the wedding planner and Elijah said he would be picking up Kol from the airport. He suggested having a family dinner so that their families could start interacting and getting to know each other better before the wedding. She was somewhat resistant because the idea of having dinner with Klaus was not appealing but she reminded herself that he was Elijah's family. Besides, there was always the chance that Klaus would not go. When she was walking toward the table she realized the odds had not been in her favor when she saw him and Elijah already sitting there. She was surprised however, when she didn't see Kol with them.

"Where's Kol?" Katherine asked when she reached the table and greeted Elijah with a quick kiss.

"He called to say he would meet us here," Elijah said with a slightly annoyed undertone.

"Where the hell did he go? I thought he just flew in less than an hour ago," she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"My brother has been blessed with very happy manners that allows him to make friends rather quickly," Elijah responded with an eye roll.

"Whether he possesses the ability to maintain these friendships is an entirely different matter," Klaus added with a smirk.

"I take it you're speaking from personal experience," Katherine said with a sardonic smile.

Elijah cleared his throat tensely while Klaus simply rolled his eyes but before he could respond, Elijah quickly added.

"Remember what we talked about earlier Niklaus," he said almost as in warning.

Katherine looked at the pair of them with furrowed eyebrows while Elijah looked at Klaus tensely and Klaus looked irritated. After what happened with Caroline earlier, he had wanted nothing more than to go drink himself numb but Elijah had other plans. He had insisted that he needed to start fixing things with Katherine since he was going to be best man at their wedding but with the way things were starting out, one of them was bound to draw blood before the end of the dinner.

"Greetings everyone, I hope I'm not running too late," Kol said with his trademark grin.

"Katherine darling how nice to see you again," he added with a smirk as he walked around to kiss her hand before directing his attention to Klaus who was currently sitting in a tense position with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Ah I'm surprised to see my wayward brother here at this lovely little gathering," he said looking at Klaus. "Here I thought you'd be off stirring up some trouble for our dear brother Elijah."

"Kol," Elijah warned sternly.

"And where would the fun be in doing it alone when we could do it together?" Klaus responded sarcastically.

"Well you seem to like doing everything alone nowadays," Kol responded with a shrug. "You still let other human beings satisfy your baser needs right? Or do you like to fly solo in that area as well?"

"That's fucking disgusting," Katherine said with a grimace while Elijah chastised him and Klaus simply laughed bitterly.

"You worry about having your own needs met brother and I'll worry about mine," he responded with a smirk.

"Oh believe me, that's not something I ever have to worry about," he responded with a cocky grin.

"Are we seriously having this conversation right now?" Katherine asked with a disgusted look on her face. "What 'happy manners' were you talking about Elijah? Or better yet, what kind of friends do you make with these 'happy manners' Kol?"

"Only the best kind," he responded with a wink.

The hostess came up just then, leading Jeremy and their Aunt Jenna to the table and Katherine seemed to breathe in relief at the sight of them.

"Where's Elena?" she asked.

"She called to say she had last minute plans with Damon," Jenna answered.

Katherine rolled her eyes knowing she had probably just made that up to avoid having dinner with Elijah's family.

"Jeremy it's been a while since I've seen you mate," Kol said excitedly. "How long has it been? Since your last trip to Colorado?"

"Yeah, I've been a little busy since I started my internship at the hospital," Jeremy said. "I don't really have time for anything else."

"That's not what I heard," Katherine said with a sly grin as she remembered what Caroline had told her earlier about Jeremy going on a date the night before.

"Katherine and I were talking about taking a trip down to the vacation home with our families before the wedding," Elijah said to Jeremy and Jenna. "I know you're both very busy but we would love for you both to be there."

"My schedule is easier to work around than Jeremy's here," Jenna said with a smile.

"I have the weekend off at the end of the month but I already told Matt I'd watch Bill for that weekend," Jeremy said. "I could try to work something out with Stefan and Lexi I guess."

"Wait why were you talking to Matt about taking care of Caroline's dad?" Katherine asked with an arched eyebrow while Klaus listened in very attentively.

"He's taking her away for the weekend," Jeremy explained with a shrug. "He finally got her a ring," he said to Katherine with a knowing smile.

"Caroline? As in sweet Caroline?" Kol asked, the shock evident on his face and in his voice.

Klaus felt like his heart literally stopped as he looked at Katherine's brother and tried process what he had just said. Beside him, he felt Elijah stiffen as he also turned his attention to his fiancé's brother. Katherine momentarily froze at the revelation while Jenna seemed delighted by the news. Katherine chanced a glance at Klaus and couldn't help but feel sorry for him for a brief moment. He was breathing a little quicker than usual, as he looked down at the table, and she knew he was trying to maintain his composure.

He didn't hear what else was said after that as he suddenly felt like his head was underwater and he needed air. He quietly and quickly excused himself from the table and left before any of the others could process what had just happened.

Kol looked after his brother with the confusion evident on his face while Elijah looked down at his wine glass sadly and Katherine looked at Klaus' retreating figure with an unreadable expression.

Klaus quickly walked out of the restaurant and kept walking, not sure where he was going just knowing he needed to escape. He kept walking quickly, the last part of the dinner replaying in his mind like a plague as images of Caroline dressed in a white dress and walking down the aisle filled his mind. _This is why you shouldn't care. _As he was walking, he heard Elijah's voice call out to him but he ignored him and kept walking.

Elijah looked at the retreating figure of his brother and shook his head sadly.

"You know I thought this moment would be a lot more satisfying," he heard Kol say from behind him. "Damn Nik taking the fun out of everything."

He quickly turned to look at him with furrowed eyebrows, not sure what he meant.

"Getting to gloat and say I told you so," Kol said in a low voice as he stopped next to him. "I waited three years only to have him rip the sweet victory right out of my hands."

Elijah looked at him but didn't say anything for a few moments.

"Were you able to find anything out?" he finally asked tensely as they both stared at the retreating figure of their brother that kept growing smaller and smaller.

"I was able to finally get in contact with Marcel and it seems our dear brother is indeed keeping something from us but Marcel refused to divulge any of the details. He said we need to take this up with Nik," Kol said. "I take it you got nothing out of him?"

Elijah shook his head tensely. He exhaled sharply before clapping a hand on Kol's shoulder and heading back inside. Kol remained looking straight ahead in the direction that Klaus had walked in and felt torn between going after him or going back inside.

Klaus kept walking and soon enough he felt the tears begin to burn in his eyes and quickly tried to blink them away. He couldn't help but wonder if he had never left, would he and Caroline have worked out? He couldn't deny that he had never considered marriage but he had envisioned a future with her.

He finally stopped outside of a bar but before he went inside he heard footsteps quickly approaching. He turned to see Kol running to catch up to him.

"What do you want Kol?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I could never pass up an opportunity to get pissed drunk," Kol said with a shrug as he walked past him into the bar leaving Klaus standing there for a few moments before walking into the bar too.

He saw Kol already seated at the bar and went to sit in the stool next to him.

"So…" Kol started.

"Let's not talk shall we?" Klaus said tensely.

"As the highness wishes," Kol responded with an innocent grin.

Klaus gritted his teeth while Kol ordered a whole bottle of scotch from the bartender.

"Here's to being lonely fuckups," Kol said with a grin, raising his glass against Klaus'.

Almost the whole bottle later, Kol looked over at Klaus like he was contemplating something.

"Spit it out," Klaus said, irritation evident in his voice.

"Do you think she'll say yes?" Kol asked, studying him closely.

Klaus clenched his jaw and took a big sip from his cup before answering.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see won't we?" he said in an empty voice.

"Have you seen her yet?" Kol asked as he poured them both another drink.

Klaus nodded his head as he silently accepted the drink from him.

"How did that work out?" Kol asked with an arched eyebrow.

"It didn't," he said stiffly. "I'm pretty sure she hates me and I suppose I can't exactly blame her."

"You were a bastard Nik but I don't think she'll hold this against you forever," Kol said with a shrug. "We learned to forgive you didn't we?"

Klaus clenched his jaw and didn't say anything for a few moments.

"It's different, you guys are family," he finally said in a hollow voice.

"And?" Kol retorted. "Does that really mean anything in our family? You should be able to answer that better than anybody."

Klaus glared at him before taking the bottle and pouring himself another drink.

"So what are you going to do now?" Kol asked.

Klaus turned to look at him with an arched eyebrow waiting for him to elaborate.

"You think she hates you and you obviously still care, so what are you going to do about it?" Kol explained like it should be common sense.

"There's nothing I can do brother," he answered in a low voice. "I've tried apologizing but she wants nothing to do with me."

Kol rolled his eyes before setting his empty cup down.

"You apologize and that's it?" Kol asked incredulously. "Honestly what the hell did she ever see in you? It can't have been just your looks because we all know she had better options starting with me."

Klaus turned to glare at him but Kol continued unfazed.

"You were an intolerable ass and you tried damn hard to push her away. The least you can do is try just as hard to get her forgiveness," Kol said, and for once, he seemed completely serious.

Klaus turned to look at him, completely surprised by his brother's words he was about to ask who abducted him when Kol spoke again.

"She'll probably still reject your ass and realize that it was me she really wanted all along but at least you can say you tried," he said with an evil grin.

And just like that he was back.

Klaus stood up and walked outside, welcoming the cool night air that hit his face. He walked a few steps away from the small group gathered outside the bar and pulled out his phone and went straight to her name in his contact list. He heard the sound of the phone ringing and felt his heart accelerating at an alarming speed before he heard her voicemail greeting.

"_Caroline, I know I screwed up and that I lost you but if you'll give me another chance I can prove to you that I can be the man you deserve. Tell me that you'll turn him down, that you'll turn down any man who asks for your hand because deep down you still care for me and are waiting for me. Pick me Caroline. I can think of very few things I wanted more than to see your face again, to see your smile these past few years. All I want is to have you in my arms again, to hear you say that I'm yours and that you're mine. No matter what has happened, where life was led me, I've never been able to let you go Caroline. I never will." _

He took in a deep breath knowing very well that all those other things were the words he would never say, the things he could never say.

"Caroline…I did care. I know you have no reason to believe me but I wanted you to know that you brought out a side of me I had long since forgotten and I cared so much it bloody terrified me. When I left I thought I was already losing you so I thought it would it be easier if I just let you go…I'm sorry," he managed to say in a tight voice before he hung up.

* * *

Caroline looked at her phone light up notifying her she had a new voicemail.

"Seriously?" she scoffed.

She was torn between listening to the message and simply deleting it.

From the other side of the house, Bonnie was searching through the different kitchen cabinets. Caroline had invited her to come over and spend the night, claiming that they were in much need of girl time. She had walked out of the kitchen up to her neck with different junk foods and to set up the Netflix.

"Hey Care where do you have your wine opener?" Bonnie asked as she walked into kitchen only to find her friend sitting on the edge of the couch, a tear running down her face as she quickly put her phone down.

"Care are you okay?" Bonnie asked quickly.

Caroline looked at her phone before looking up at her sadly.

"I don't know anymore," she whispered.

* * *

**Thanks for reading everyone! Okay so this was a very difficult chapter for me to write, I just had a hard time getting everything out (damn writer's block!) and I'm frustrated because I didn't get to cover everything I wanted to in this chapter but you will start getting more answers soon including what exactly happened. It wasn't just one thing that led to their fall-out so next chapter I will address the beginning of the end if you will and also add on some fun & lighter stuff. Opinion: do you guys want flashbacks or just mentions of what happened in their relationship? I kind of read different things so I'm curious to know what you guys think about this. Please share your thoughts with me! :)**


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